@ybotok/loam 0.1.0-beta.2 → 0.2.0-alpha.1

package/MIGRATING-from-OpenSpec.md

@@ -1,13 +1,41 @@
 # Migrating from OpenSpec
 
-loam reads OpenSpec requirement Markdown from the outside: `### Requirement:` headings, `#### Scenario:` blocks, and `## ADDED|MODIFIED|REMOVED Requirements` delta sections. Compatibility is measured, not assumed.
-
-Two upstream baselines are named separately:
-
-- released behavior: **OpenSpec v1.7.0**, exact commit `4e16790d90d8f54d4773ad9a5e71a57cd9f1e86b`;
-- compatibility canary: post-release `main` commit `45cca5db6137ed209117cc70510eb3e057fb981b` — a fixed historical pin, not a moving one. Upstream `main` advances daily; the canary exists to give the sweep a second reproducible corpus, and its totals are unchanged since it was taken.
-
-The seven verbatim fixtures come from the main canary and run in routine CI. A scheduled/manual matrix separately checks the exact release and canary commits across living, active, and archived spec trees: release 207 files / 739 requirements / 2273 scenarios; canary 209 / 742 / 2284. These test requirement/scenario parsing, not every modern workspace feature. Provenance and checksums are in [`test/fixtures/openspec/README.md`](test/fixtures/openspec/README.md).
+loam reads OpenSpec requirement Markdown from the outside: `### Requirement:` headings,
+`#### Scenario:` blocks, and `## ADDED|MODIFIED|REMOVED Requirements` delta sections. Compatibility
+is measured, not inferred from a successful directory walk.
+
+## Version matrix
+
+> **Compatibility boundary:** the v1.9 exact-commit corpus is certified for the parser and one-way
+> migration boundary documented here. That boundary is the Markdown and the staged migration, not
+> OpenSpec's behavior: `audit-openspec` inventories v1.8/v1.9 workspace shapes, and loam does not
+> reimplement v1.9 validation, archive recovery, capability retirement, Store or agent-delivery
+> semantics.
+
+| OpenSpec source | Exact pin | loam coverage | Status |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| [v1.9.0 release](https://github.com/Fission-AI/OpenSpec/releases/tag/v1.9.0) | `2826b8889e5223a9a8095d4428b60b56597e1020`, released 2026-08-13 | Full living + active + archived Markdown corpus sweep, seven verbatim regression fixtures re-vendored at this commit, and the documented audit/mapping/staged-apply path. | **Certified for this documented parser/migration boundary.** It is not bidirectional OpenSpec compatibility. |
+| [v1.8.0 release](https://github.com/Fission-AI/OpenSpec/releases/tag/v1.8.0) | `d57889664cab4f2f061d236ec3ff82a5578701bb`, released 2026-08-05 | Audit inventories or preserves modern planning roots, Stores, nested capability paths, config context/rules/references, custom schemas/templates, per-change metadata, `skip_specs`, `RENAMED`, and authored artifacts. | **Inventoried, and superseded by the certified v1.9.0 pin.** No v1.8 exact-release sweep of its own runs; the shapes v1.8 introduced are carried by the v1.9 corpus. |
+| [v1.7.0 release](https://github.com/Fission-AI/OpenSpec/releases/tag/v1.7.0) | `4e16790d90d8f54d4773ad9a5e71a57cd9f1e86b` | The previously certified corpus, still swept file by file. | **Regression pin.** A parser change may not fix the current corpus by breaking the one somebody already migrated from. |
+| Historical post-v1.7 `main` canary | `45cca5db6137ed209117cc70510eb3e057fb981b` | A third exact living + active + archived parser corpus. | **Regression pin only.** It is not a release and not a moving claim. |
+
+The seven verbatim fixtures come from the v1.9.0 commit and run in routine CI. A scheduled/manual
+matrix separately sweeps all three pinned commits across living, active, and archived spec trees:
+v1.9.0 211 files / 746 requirements / 2317 scenarios; v1.7.0 207 / 739 / 2273; canary 209 / 742 /
+2284. These test requirement/scenario parsing, not every v1.8/v1.9 workspace feature. The
+[fixture provenance, immutable upstream paths, and checksums](https://github.com/ybotok/loam/blob/main/test/fixtures/openspec/README.md)
+and the [compatibility tests](https://github.com/ybotok/loam/blob/main/test/openspec-compat.test.ts)
+use absolute GitHub URLs because this guide is also shipped in the npm tarball while `test/` is not.
+
+OpenSpec v1.10.0 (released 2026-08-19) changed no requirement-Markdown format, so the certified
+v1.9.0 boundary also covers documents it writes; its workspace-level additions are inventoried like
+the v1.8/v1.9 shapes above.
+
+An audit result of `ready: true` means that the particular files the installed loam inspected
+satisfy loam's documented migration checks. It is not a statement that every behavior of the
+OpenSpec version which created them has been certified. In particular, a v1.8/v1.9 `.openspec.yaml`
+field such as `retire_capabilities` is inventoried and preserved with the source tree, but loam does
+not translate OpenSpec capability retirement into a loam service or feature lifecycle action.
 
 ## Start with a read-only audit
 
@@ -16,30 +44,50 @@ loam audit-openspec /path/to/repo
 loam audit-openspec /path/to/repo --json
 ```
 
-The input may be a repository containing `openspec/`, the `openspec/` directory itself, or a Store checkout. Modern `config.yaml`, Store metadata, nested capability folders, per-change `.openspec.yaml`, `skip_specs: true`, and project custom schemas are inventoried.
+The input may be a repository containing `openspec/`, the `openspec/` directory itself, or a Store
+checkout. Modern `config.yaml`, Store metadata, nested capability folders, per-change
+`.openspec.yaml`, `skip_specs: true`, and project custom schemas are inventoried.
 
-For a **Store checkout** the planning shape decides the root and the store marker decides only the kind: the planning content may sit at the checkout root or under `<checkout>/openspec`, and a checkout with a `.openspec-store/store.yaml` but planning content in neither place is refused by name rather than audited as an empty, compatible workspace. Planning content in *both* places is the pre-existing `Ambiguous OpenSpec root` refusal, unchanged. A root that holds no living spec and no active change at all is never `ready` (`openspec.workspace-empty`): a verdict over a corpus nobody read is the one answer this command must not be able to give.
+For a **Store checkout** the planning shape decides the root and the store marker decides only the
+kind: the planning content may sit at the checkout root or under `<checkout>/openspec`, and a
+checkout with a `.openspec-store/store.yaml` but planning content in neither place is refused by
+name rather than audited as an empty, compatible workspace. Planning content in *both* places is the
+pre-existing `Ambiguous OpenSpec root` refusal, unchanged. A root that holds no living spec and no
+active change at all is never `ready` (`openspec.workspace-empty`): a verdict over a corpus nobody
+read is the one answer this command must not be able to give.
 
 Audit separates four different facts:
 
 - `readiness.living` — living specs are mechanically readable;
 - `readiness.active` — active deltas will not silently strand content;
-- capability/service mappings, active change/feature mappings, rename identities, and authored artifact dispositions — human decisions still required (`readiness.mappingsResolved`, `changesResolved`, `renamesResolved`, and `dispositionsResolved` stay separate);
-- `archiveDiagnostics` — anomalies in frozen history, reported but never allowed to block migration of living/active truth.
+- capability/service mappings, active change/feature mappings, rename identities, and authored
+  artifact dispositions — human decisions still required (`readiness.mappingsResolved`,
+  `changesResolved`, `renamesResolved`, and `dispositionsResolved` stay separate);
+- `archiveDiagnostics` — anomalies in frozen history, reported but never allowed to block migration
+  of living/active truth.
 
-An audit that completed exits successfully even when it found blockers. Root, YAML and I/O failures still fail. This makes “the audit ran” distinct from `ready`/`mechanicallyCompatible`.
+An audit that completed exits successfully even when it found blockers. Root, YAML and I/O failures
+still fail. This makes “the audit ran” distinct from `ready`/`mechanicallyCompatible`.
 
 ## Generate and complete the mapping
 
-Audit is read-only by default. An explicit output path outside the OpenSpec source writes a non-overwriting skeleton:
+Audit is read-only by default. An explicit output path outside the OpenSpec source writes a
+non-overwriting skeleton:
 
 ```bash
 loam audit-openspec /path/to/repo --write-mapping /tmp/openspec-map.yaml
 ```
 
-The mapping is versioned and bound to both the canonical planning root and a SHA-256 inventory digest. That digest covers the **living tree and the active changes only** — not `changes/archive/**`. Frozen history is reported as diagnostics that never gate, so letting a colleague's typo fix inside an archived change invalidate a 900-line mapping somebody spent a day completing was a cost with no safety behind it. An edit to a living spec or an active delta still invalidates it, which is the case the binding exists for.
+The mapping is versioned and bound to both the canonical planning root and a SHA-256 inventory
+digest. That digest covers the **living tree and the active changes only** — not
+`changes/archive/**`. Frozen history is reported as diagnostics that never gate, so letting a
+colleague's typo fix inside an archived change invalidate a 900-line mapping somebody spent a day
+completing was a cost with no safety behind it. An edit to a living spec or an active delta still
+invalidates it, which is the case the binding exists for.
 
-Digest and artifact paths are planning-root relative regardless of whether audit receives the repository container or its `openspec/` directory (`@workspace/` is reserved for Store metadata outside that root):
+Digest and artifact paths are planning-root relative regardless of whether audit receives the
+repository container or its `openspec/` directory (`@workspace/` is reserved for Store metadata
+outside that root):
 
 ```yaml
 version: 1
@@ -80,27 +128,54 @@ artifacts:
     suggestedDisposition: preserve-as-legacy-checklist
 ```
 
-`suggestedServices`, `suggestedFeature`, and `suggestedDisposition` are hints, not decisions. The fields that count are `services`, an explicit `changes.<OpenSpec-id>.feature` plus `title`, `requirementId` where needed, and `disposition`. Feature ids use loam's `<word>-<number>` grammar and must be unique across active changes.
+`suggestedServices`, `suggestedFeature`, and `suggestedDisposition` are hints, not decisions. The
+fields that count are `services`, an explicit `changes.<OpenSpec-id>.feature` plus `title`,
+`requirementId` where needed, and `disposition`. Feature ids use loam's `<word>-<number>` grammar
+and must be unique across active changes.
 
 ### Capability → service is a human decision
 
-OpenSpec's unit is a capability; loam's unit is a service bound to the C4 landscape. A nested capability id stays nested (`payments/refunds`) rather than collapsing to `payments`. Mapping scope is the union of living capabilities and capabilities found only in active deltas, so a brand-new nested capability cannot disappear merely because it has not reached `specs/` yet.
+OpenSpec's unit is a capability; loam's unit is a service bound to the C4 landscape. A nested
+capability id stays nested (`payments/refunds`) rather than collapsing to `payments`. Mapping scope
+is the union of living capabilities and capabilities found only in active deltas, so a brand-new
+nested capability cannot disappear merely because it has not reached `specs/` yet.
+
+The mapping of requirements to services stays a human decision — but the capability ids and their
+associations are preserved mechanically. Apply declares every living and active-horizon capability
+id in the target's `architecture/capabilities.yaml`, and every routed requirement carries a
+`Capability: <id>` line joining it back to that declaration, so migration is no longer the step
+where the analyst's capability structure is lost to everything but `legacy/`.
+`loam list capabilities` in the staged target answers "what realizes payments/refunds now" from day
+one.
 
 - With one selected service, every requirement in the capability goes there.
-- With several selected services, `requirementServices` must allocate every living **and active** requirement to one or more of them. Apply refuses an omitted allocation or a service outside the declared list.
-- If two mapped capabilities would create the same heading/`Requirement-ID` in one service, apply refuses instead of guessing which requirement wins.
+- With several selected services, `requirementServices` must allocate every living **and active**
+  requirement to one or more of them. Apply refuses an omitted allocation or a service outside the
+  declared list.
+- If two mapped capabilities would create the same heading/`Requirement-ID` in one service, apply
+  refuses instead of guessing which requirement wins.
 
 ### Change → feature is explicit
 
-Every active OpenSpec change gets one `changes.<id>` entry. Fill both the loam feature id and the human title. The skeleton deliberately leaves `feature: null` next to a deterministic suggestion; suggestions never make a migration ready. Unknown OpenSpec change ids, malformed feature ids, blank titles, and duplicate feature ids block apply.
+Every active OpenSpec change gets one `changes.<id>` entry. Fill both the loam feature id and the
+human title. The skeleton deliberately leaves `feature: null` next to a deterministic suggestion;
+suggestions never make a migration ready. Unknown OpenSpec change ids, malformed feature ids, blank
+titles, and duplicate feature ids block apply.
 
 ### RENAMED keeps identity
 
-Audit parses every OpenSpec FROM/TO pair and gives it a stable mapping key. FROM must select exactly one living requirement in that delta's capability. If that requirement already has a `Requirement-ID`, the skeleton reuses it and refuses a replacement; otherwise assign a valid id. Apply places that id on the staged living source and emits a `MODIFIED` requirement with the TO heading, the same body/scenarios, and an `OpenSpec-Living-Source` annotation. Conflicting targets, duplicate sources/targets, identity collisions, and multi-change rename chains block instead of being flattened to `REMOVED` + `ADDED`.
+Audit parses every OpenSpec FROM/TO pair and gives it a stable mapping key. FROM must select exactly
+one living requirement in that delta's capability. If that requirement already has a
+`Requirement-ID`, the skeleton reuses it and refuses a replacement; otherwise assign a valid id.
+Apply places that id on the staged living source and emits a `MODIFIED` requirement with the TO
+heading, the same body/scenarios, and an `OpenSpec-Living-Source` annotation. Conflicting targets,
+duplicate sources/targets, identity collisions, and multi-change rename chains block instead of
+being flattened to `REMOVED` + `ADDED`.
 
 ### Authored artifacts require explicit disposition
 
-Every active `proposal.md`, `design.md`, and `tasks.md` appears in the mapping with `disposition: null` until a human chooses. A suggestion does not make migration ready.
+Every active `proposal.md`, `design.md`, and `tasks.md` appears in the mapping with
+`disposition: null` until a human chooses. A suggestion does not make migration ready.
 
 Typical choices are:
 
@@ -118,7 +193,8 @@ loam migrate-openspec /path/to/repo --map /tmp/openspec-map.yaml
 loam migrate-openspec /path/to/repo --map /tmp/openspec-map.yaml --json
 ```
 
-`--mapping` remains a deprecated spelling of `--map`. Dry-run is always the default and never creates the target.
+`--mapping` remains a deprecated spelling of `--map`. Dry-run is always the default and never
+creates the target.
 
 Writing requires both flags:
 
@@ -129,56 +205,130 @@ loam migrate-openspec /path/to/repo \
   --target /tmp/loam-migration-review
 ```
 
-Before apply, loam repeats the audit and compares the fresh source root/digest with the mapping. Any living or active source edit since review invalidates the mapping. The target must be absent or empty, must not overlap the OpenSpec source, and **must not sit inside a live loam fleet**: a target under the `docsDir` of a governing `loam.json` — or under any directory holding `architecture/landscape.likec4` — is refused, because every staged feature would otherwise be enumerated by `loam list` and `loam validate --all` as a phantom feature of the real fleet. A sibling of `docsDir` is fine. Writes are staged and swapped with rollback; source files and live loam docs are never modified, and every refusal above leaves the target directory absent rather than half-written.
+Before apply, loam repeats the audit and compares the fresh source root/digest with the mapping. Any
+living or active source edit since review invalidates the mapping. The target must be absent or
+empty, must not overlap the OpenSpec source, and **must not sit inside a live loam fleet**: a target
+under the `docsDir` of a governing `loam.json` — or under any directory holding
+`architecture/landscape.likec4` — is refused, because every staged feature would otherwise be
+enumerated by `loam list` and `loam validate --all` as a phantom feature of the governing fleet. A
+sibling of `docsDir` is fine. Writes are staged and swapped with rollback; source files and live
+loam docs are never modified, and every refusal above leaves the target directory absent rather than
+half-written.
 
 The target contains:
 
-- `services/<service>/spec.md` with mapped living requirements and `status: draft`;
+- `services/<service>/spec.md` with mapped living requirements and `status: draft`, each requirement
+  carrying a `Capability:` line for the capability it was routed from;
+- `architecture/capabilities.yaml` declaring the union of living and active-horizon capability ids
+  (empty bodies — no description is invented, the authored `## Purpose` prose stays verbatim under
+  `legacy/`);
 - `features/<FEAT>-<slug>/intent.md` for every active change;
-- `features/<FEAT>-<slug>/specs/<service>/spec.md` with routed ADDED/MODIFIED/REMOVED sections for every non-`skip_specs` change;
-- feature ADR/legacy files according to the explicit proposal/design/tasks dispositions, plus an exact read-only copy of the complete source change tree under `legacy/openspec/`, **and the living capability tree verbatim under `legacy/openspec/specs/`** — `## Purpose` prose, section prose between a heading and its first requirement, and capability `design.md` have no loam equivalent, so they are copied rather than converted and nothing is silently lost;
-- `migration-plan.json` with active changes, mappings, archive diagnostics and every artifact disposition;
+- `features/<FEAT>-<slug>/specs/<service>/spec.md` with routed ADDED/MODIFIED/REMOVED sections for
+  every non-`skip_specs` change;
+- feature ADR/legacy files according to the explicit proposal/design/tasks dispositions, plus an
+  exact read-only copy of the complete source change tree under `legacy/openspec/`, **and the living
+  capability tree verbatim under `legacy/openspec/specs/`** — `## Purpose` prose, section prose
+  between a heading and its first requirement, and capability `design.md` have no loam equivalent,
+  so they are copied rather than converted and nothing is silently lost;
+- `migration-plan.json` with active changes, mappings, archive diagnostics and every artifact
+  disposition;
 - normalized `mapping.yaml`;
 - `FOLLOW-UP.md` naming the work that still blocks a trustworthy fleet;
-- and the target's own `loam.json` (`{"docsDir": "."}`), `AGENTS.md`, and an **empty** `architecture/landscape.likec4`. The target is therefore a standalone docs repo, which is what makes `FOLLOW-UP.md`'s instructions runnable where they are written: `loam validate --all`, `loam status`, `loam rebase <FEAT>` and `loam doctor` all work inside it. The landscape is laid down empty on purpose — OpenSpec carries no topology, and a generated one would be a guess presented as the map — so every staged service surfaces as exactly one `landscape.service-unmodelled`, which is follow-up item one.
-
-This is deliberately called **staged migration docs**, not a finished or green loam repository. Apply uses the reviewed feature ids and materializes active changes, but it does not invent C4 topology/deltas, OpenAPI contracts, source provenance, or vouch evidence. `skip_specs: true` changes still receive intent and legacy artifacts but no feature spec delta. Every feature therefore remains review material until the follow-up checklist is complete.
+- and the target's own `loam.json` (`{"docsDir": "."}`), `AGENTS.md`, and an **empty**
+  `architecture/landscape.likec4`. The target is therefore a standalone docs repo, which is what
+  makes `FOLLOW-UP.md`'s instructions runnable where they are written: `loam validate --all`,
+  `loam status`, `loam rebase <FEAT>` and `loam doctor` all work inside it. The landscape is laid
+  down empty on purpose — OpenSpec carries no topology, and a generated one would be a guess
+  presented as the map — so every staged service surfaces as exactly one
+  `landscape.service-unmodelled`, which is follow-up item one.
+
+This is deliberately called **staged migration docs**, not a finished or green loam repository.
+Apply uses the reviewed feature ids and materializes active changes, but it does not invent C4
+topology/deltas, OpenAPI contracts, source provenance, or vouch evidence. `skip_specs: true` changes
+still receive intent and legacy artifacts but no feature spec delta. Every feature therefore remains
+review material until the follow-up checklist is complete.
 
 ## What carries over mechanically
 
-The exact-commit corpus gate checks living, active, and archived spec trees. OpenSpec v1.7.0 release `4e16790` contributes 207 Markdown files, 739 requirements, and 2273 scenarios; main canary `45cca5d` contributes 209, 742, and 2284. Both sweeps check parse/serialize/parse stability of requirement content. Nested bullets, fenced markup, removal prose, CRLF, BOM and non-ASCII names survive. `REMOVED` requirements with no scenarios remain legal.
+The exact-commit corpus gate checks living, active, and archived spec trees. The certified corpus is
+the OpenSpec v1.9.0 release `2826b888`: 211 Markdown files, 746 requirements, and 2317 scenarios.
+The v1.7.0 release `4e16790` (207, 739, 2273) and the post-v1.7 main canary `45cca5d` (209, 742,
+2284) remain as regression sweeps. All three sweeps check parse/serialize/parse stability of
+requirement content. Nested bullets, fenced markup, removal prose, CRLF, BOM and non-ASCII names
+survive. `REMOVED` requirements with no scenarios remain legal.
 
-Modern ADDED/MODIFIED/REMOVED deltas are readable, but “readable” is not “ready”: routing to services, loam frontmatter, Operations/Covers links and feature identity still require decisions.
+Modern ADDED/MODIFIED/REMOVED deltas are readable, but “readable” is not “ready”: routing to
+services, loam frontmatter, Operations/Covers links and feature identity still require decisions.
 
 ## Shapes that need repair or review
 
-- **Mixed legacy complete-state deltas.** Any BASE requirement stranded under `## Behavior`, `## Error Handling` or another prose heading is reported even if the same file also contains a valid ADDED/MODIFIED section. Re-home it before conversion.
-- **`## Requirements` inside an active change delta** is a **blocker** (`openspec.change-quoted-requirements`), which needs saying plainly because it is the shape OpenSpec's own living-spec template mandates and it looks correct. In a *living* spec that heading is the requirements section; in a *change delta* it is the one explicitly non-merging quote section, so requirements sitting under it stage nothing. loam refuses rather than counting requirements it cannot route — which is also what guarantees the per-change requirement counts in `migration-plan.json` equal what apply actually stages. Re-home them under `ADDED`, `MODIFIED` or `REMOVED`.
-- **Markdown under `specs/` named neither `spec.md` nor `design.md`** (`openspec.nonstandard-living-spec`) — a `Spec.md` on a case-sensitive filesystem, a `spec.markdown`, a hand-split `part-2.md`. No capability reads it, so migrating would leave its requirements behind. This is the living twin of the same check on change specs.
-- **Dot-prefixed directories under `changes/`** (`openspec.hidden-change-directory`) — a `.wip-refunds/` convention. They are not enumerated as changes, so nothing under them migrates. loam blocks rather than walking them: rename or move the directory before migrating, and its content is never silently dropped. Under `changes/archive/` the same finding is an archive diagnostic and does not gate, because frozen history never blocks.
-- **An ISO-8601 `created` timestamp** in `.openspec.yaml` is a valid date. It used to fail the whole workspace; a calendar date with an optional time and offset is now accepted.
-- **Spec-less changes.** They are valid only when a present, valid `.openspec.yaml` explicitly sets `skip_specs: true` and its named built-in or project custom schema resolves. A custom artifact graph never implies this opt-out by itself. Otherwise an active zero-delta change is a blocker. Explicit `skip_specs` suppresses generated feature specs while preserving intent, metadata, and authored legacy material.
-- **Malformed RENAMED.** A rename-only delta is not “empty”, but every section must supply a FROM/TO pair and every active pair needs an identity decision.
-- **External Store pointer.** A config-only code repo with `store: <id>` identifies external planning. Audit the registered Store checkout itself; loam does not guess a machine-local registry path.
-- **Frozen archive history.** Legacy shapes are diagnostics only. Keep `changes/archive/` read-only where it is; do not reconstruct it as loam `features/archive/`, whose entries imply loam computed and snapshotted the merge.
+- **Mixed legacy complete-state deltas.** Any BASE requirement stranded under `## Behavior`,
+  `## Error Handling` or another prose heading is reported even if the same file also contains a
+  valid ADDED/MODIFIED section. Re-home it before conversion.
+- **`## Requirements` inside an active change delta** is a **blocker**
+  (`openspec.change-quoted-requirements`), which needs saying plainly because it is the shape
+  OpenSpec's own living-spec template mandates and it looks correct. In a *living* spec that heading
+  is the requirements section; in a *change delta* it is the one explicitly non-merging quote
+  section, so requirements sitting under it stage nothing. loam refuses rather than counting
+  requirements it cannot route — which is also what guarantees the per-change requirement counts in
+  `migration-plan.json` equal what apply actually stages. Re-home them under `ADDED`, `MODIFIED` or
+  `REMOVED`.
+- **Markdown under `specs/` named neither `spec.md` nor `design.md`**
+  (`openspec.nonstandard-living-spec`) — a `Spec.md` on a case-sensitive filesystem, a
+  `spec.markdown`, a hand-split `part-2.md`. No capability reads it, so migrating would leave its
+  requirements behind. This is the living twin of the same check on change specs.
+- **Dot-prefixed directories under `changes/`** (`openspec.hidden-change-directory`) — a
+  `.wip-refunds/` convention. They are not enumerated as changes, so nothing under them migrates.
+  loam blocks rather than walking them: rename or move the directory before migrating, and its
+  content is never silently dropped. Under `changes/archive/` the same finding is an archive
+  diagnostic and does not gate, because frozen history never blocks.
+- **An ISO-8601 `created` timestamp** in `.openspec.yaml` is a valid date. It used to fail the whole
+  workspace; a calendar date with an optional time and offset is now accepted.
+- **Spec-less changes.** They are valid only when a present, valid `.openspec.yaml` explicitly sets
+  `skip_specs: true` and its named built-in or project custom schema resolves. A custom artifact
+  graph never implies this opt-out by itself. Otherwise an active zero-delta change is a blocker.
+  Explicit `skip_specs` suppresses generated feature specs while preserving intent, metadata, and
+  authored legacy material. **This is the blocker a live workspace hits first**
+  (`openspec.change-no-specs`): a change still at the proposal stage of OpenSpec's artifact pipeline
+  has a `proposal.md` and no `specs/` tree yet, which is normal upstream and unmigratable here.
+  Finish it, archive it, or migrate from a commit that predates it — the audit names the directory.
+- **v1.8/v1.9 lifecycle metadata.** `retire_capabilities` changes what OpenSpec archive is allowed
+  to delete when the last requirement is removed. loam records the metadata field and preserves the
+  exact change tree, but does not infer that an OpenSpec capability is a loam service or translate
+  retirement into a loam deletion. Review that intent manually before apply and express any loam
+  retirement through loam's own modeled change.
+- **Malformed RENAMED.** A rename-only delta is not “empty”, but every section must supply a FROM/TO
+  pair and every active pair needs an identity decision.
+- **External Store pointer.** A config-only code repo with `store: <id>` identifies external
+  planning. Audit the registered Store checkout itself; loam does not guess a machine-local registry
+  path.
+- **Frozen archive history.** Legacy shapes are diagnostics only. Keep `changes/archive/` read-only
+  where it is; do not reconstruct it as loam `features/archive/`, whose entries imply loam computed
+  and snapshotted the merge.
 
 ## What must be added after staged apply
 
-- Truthful `sources:` paths from each service repository, followed by human `loam vouch`; staged specs intentionally remain `status: draft`.
-- `Operations:` links to provider OpenAPI `operationId`s, and `Covers:` links where architecture requirements are created.
+- Truthful `sources:` paths from each service repository, followed by human `loam vouch`; staged
+  specs intentionally remain `status: draft`.
+- `Operations:` links to provider OpenAPI `operationId`s, and `Covers:` links where architecture
+  requirements are created.
 - `architecture/landscape.likec4`, service `model.likec4`, and explicit fleet relationships.
-- Service OpenAPI contracts and provider-before-consumer adoption where inbound edges already name operations.
-- LikeC4 and OpenAPI deltas for the already mapped active feature ids (`FEAT-12`, `BUG-42`, and so on); OpenSpec's prose change id/title remains visible in the staged slug, annotations, plan, and preserved source tree.
-- Human disposition of `config.yaml.context`, per-artifact rules, custom schemas/templates, Stores/references, Purpose prose and generated tool instructions.
+- Service OpenAPI contracts and provider-before-consumer sequencing where inbound edges already name
+  operations.
+- LikeC4 and OpenAPI deltas for the already mapped active feature ids (`FEAT-12`, `BUG-42`, and so
+  on); OpenSpec's prose change id/title remains visible in the staged slug, annotations, plan, and
+  preserved source tree.
+- Human disposition of `config.yaml.context`, per-artifact rules, custom schemas/templates,
+  Stores/references, Purpose prose and generated tool instructions.
 
 ## Modern artifact disposition guide
 
 | OpenSpec artifact | Migration treatment |
 |---|---|
 | `config.yaml` (`schema`, `context`, `rules`, optional `store`) | Inventory and review. Move durable operating context into the docs contract; do not silently convert workflow rules into different validator semantics. |
-| `specs/<nested/capability>/spec.md` | Map requirements to one or more services. Apply stages combined `services/<svc>/spec.md` files. |
+| `specs/<nested/capability>/spec.md` | Map requirements to one or more services. Apply stages combined `services/<svc>/spec.md` files, declares the capability id in `architecture/capabilities.yaml`, and stamps each routed requirement with a `Capability:` line. |
 | `specs/<capability>/design.md` | Review as a service ADR; do not mark accepted merely because the file existed. |
-| `changes/<id>/.openspec.yaml` | Preserve schema/`skip_specs`/created metadata in the plan and exact feature-local legacy tree. |
+| `changes/<id>/.openspec.yaml` | Preserve schema/`skip_specs`/created and all inventoried field names in the plan and exact feature-local legacy tree. Current fields such as `retire_capabilities` are not silently converted into loam lifecycle actions. |
 | `changes/<id>/proposal.md` | Explicit `convert-to-intent`, or retain/manual-review in feature legacy material; the original is also preserved. |
 | `changes/<id>/specs/**/spec.md` | Validate and route ADDED/MODIFIED/REMOVED requirements into the mapped feature/service delta, preserving delta kinds; keep the original beneath `legacy/openspec/`. |
 | `changes/<id>/tasks.md` | Preserve as a non-authoritative feature-local legacy checklist with its explicit disposition until reviewed. |
@@ -192,11 +342,20 @@ Modern ADDED/MODIFIED/REMOVED deltas are readable, but “readable” is not “
 
 The staged target has two halves, and only one of them moves.
 
-1. Work `FOLLOW-UP.md` until `loam validate --all` **inside the target** is green. That is the gate; nothing before it means anything, because a staged target is deliberately red on arrival.
+1. Work `FOLLOW-UP.md` until `loam validate --all` **inside the target** is green. That is the gate;
+   nothing before it means anything, because a staged target is deliberately red on arrival.
 2. Move `services/` and `features/` into the live fleet.
-3. Leave the rest behind: `legacy/`, `mapping.yaml`, `migration-plan.json`, `FOLLOW-UP.md`, and the target's own `loam.json` and `AGENTS.md` are review residue. They exist so a human can check the conversion, and the live fleet has its own copies of the last two.
-4. Remove OpenSpec's generated skills, commands and instruction blocks from every repo, so agents stop receiving two live process contracts.
+3. Leave the rest behind: `legacy/`, `mapping.yaml`, `migration-plan.json`, `FOLLOW-UP.md`, and the
+   target's own `loam.json` and `AGENTS.md` are review residue. They exist so a human can check the
+   conversion, and the live fleet has its own copies of the last two.
+4. Remove OpenSpec's generated skills, commands and instruction blocks from every repo, so agents
+   stop receiving two live process contracts.
 
 ## Migration is one-way
 
-loam reads OpenSpec; it never writes back into the OpenSpec workspace. Loam serialization does not preserve OpenSpec's required `## Purpose` and `## Requirements` framing as an OpenSpec round-trip contract — but the source framing is not lost either: the verbatim living tree under `legacy/openspec/specs/` is what makes "no authored artifact is silently lost" cover living capabilities and not only change trees. Migrate into a separate target, review it, cut over once, and retire the old tooling only after the staged follow-up is complete.
+loam reads OpenSpec; it never writes back into the OpenSpec workspace. Loam serialization does not
+preserve OpenSpec's required `## Purpose` and `## Requirements` framing as an OpenSpec round-trip
+contract — but the source framing is not lost either: the verbatim living tree under
+`legacy/openspec/specs/` is what makes "no authored artifact is silently lost" cover living
+capabilities and not only change trees. Migrate into a separate target, review it, cut over once,
+and retire the old tooling only after the staged follow-up is complete.

package/QUICKSTART.md

@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+# loam quick start
+
+From installation to the first agent-driven change, with the smallest useful setup. This guide
+uses one application and a local docs directory. A real fleet normally keeps that directory in a
+separate repository; the commands and chat flow stay the same.
+
+## 1. Install
+
+loam requires Node 22.22.3 or newer.
+
+```bash
+npm install -g @ybotok/loam
+loam --version
+```
+
+A project-local install works too: `npm install --save-dev @ybotok/loam`, then replace `loam` below
+with `npx loam`.
+
+## 2. Wire one project
+
+Run this in the code repository you want to govern:
+
+```bash
+loam init --docs loam-docs --create --service commerce-app
+loam doctor
+```
+
+This creates a docs repo under `loam-docs/`, binds the current code checkout to the governed
+boundary `commerce-app`, and installs command and Agent Skill pointers for the AI tools it detects.
+Commit the generated `loam.json`, agent files and docs directory. Use your real stable service or
+application id instead of `commerce-app`.
+
+`--create` is only for a new docs repo. To join an existing shared docs repo, use:
+
+```bash
+loam init --docs ../architecture-docs --service commerce-app
+loam doctor
+```
+
+## 3. Adopt what already exists
+
+In chat, use the explicit entry point:
+
+```text
+/loam-adopt commerce-app
+```
+
+The agent loads the version-matched protocol, asks loam for an adoption brief, reads the code, writes
+the baseline as draft, and validates it. It must report what it did not inspect or could not prove.
+The agent does not vouch for its own work. After reviewing the baseline, a person runs:
+
+```bash
+loam vouch --service commerce-app
+```
+
+Most hosts use `/loam-adopt`; Gemini uses `/loam:adopt`, Amazon Q uses `@loam-adopt`, and a
+skills-only host can use `$loam-adopt`. A natural-language request such as “adopt commerce-app into
+loam” may load the same skill automatically, but the explicit spelling is the predictable path.
+
+## 4. Make the first change
+
+For this one-project setup, stay in the wired code repo: its `loam.json` resolves `loam-docs/`, and
+its generated agent entries are already present. In a separately cloned team docs repo, run
+`loam init` there once to install that repo's own entries before starting chat.
+
+```text
+/loam-feature FEAT-101 "Split payments"
+```
+
+The agent explores the living model before it proposes anything, scaffolds the feature, authors its
+intent and deltas, and validates the result. Then use the remaining entry points as the work moves:
+
+```text
+/loam-implement FEAT-101 commerce-app
+/loam-check FEAT-101
+/loam-verify FEAT-101
+/loam-ship FEAT-101
+```
+
+`loam-implement` runs in each affected code checkout. `loam-check`, `loam-verify` and `loam-ship`
+read the files and machine envelopes rather than relying on conversational memory. Shipping begins
+with an archive dry run and still waits for the code merge and any human-only decision.
+
+At any point, this is the reliable way to resume:
+
+```bash
+loam status --json
+```
+
+Its ordered `next[]` is the work queue. The agent runs an entry only when `next[].execution.runnable`
+is true; edits, work in another checkout and human review stay visibly different.
+
+## 5. When something behaves badly
+
+Use the support entry point; it is not another lifecycle step:
+
+```text
+/loam-report
+```
+
+Or ask naturally: “Create a loam problem report for what just happened.” The generated
+`loam-report` Agent Skill preserves the symptom, collects `loam --version`, `loam doctor --json`,
+relevant status and the smallest safe reproduction, and writes a separate file:
+
+```text
+loam-reports/YYYY-MM-DD-short-symptom.md
+```
+
+The report records expected versus actual behavior, stable codes, relevant locations, write state,
+classification and missing evidence. It replaces secrets with `<redacted>`, prefers repo-relative
+paths, does not copy source/spec bodies, does not retry a writer merely to reproduce it, and never
+uploads or submits anything automatically. Review the file before sharing or committing it.
+
+If the report command or skill file is missing after an upgrade, rerun `loam init`. loam refreshes
+only pointers whose recorded digest still matches; a file your team edited remains untouched.
+
+## What to read next
+
+- [WORKFLOW.md](WORKFLOW.md) explains the complete lifecycle and human/agent boundary.
+- [SCHEMA.md](SCHEMA.md) defines every docs-repo artifact and join.
+- [COMPARISON.md](COMPARISON.md) explains where loam fits beside neighboring tools.
+- [MIGRATING-from-OpenSpec.md](MIGRATING-from-OpenSpec.md) covers an OpenSpec migration.
+
+Three rules prevent most surprises: use `--create` only once, let a human vouch, and branch on JSON
+codes rather than message prose.