devrites 4.0.3 → 4.0.4

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@
 
 All notable changes to DevRites are documented here. The format follows [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/) and DevRites adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html). Releases are generated automatically by [semantic-release](https://semantic-release.gitbook.io/) from Conventional Commits on `main`.
 
+## [4.0.4](https://github.com/ViktorsBaikers/DevRites/compare/v4.0.3...v4.0.4) (2026-08-07)
+
+### Fixed
+
+* **rite:** stop exhausted recovery loops ([6618c9e](https://github.com/ViktorsBaikers/DevRites/commit/6618c9e8a532d5d243576dbb4c338505c916376a))
+
 ## [4.0.3](https://github.com/ViktorsBaikers/DevRites/compare/v4.0.2...v4.0.3) (2026-08-07)
 
 ### Fixed

package/README.md

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ project-conventional push, tag, or PR action, and archive the workspace.
 Unattended runs may create local WIP checkpoint commits along the way, but they
 remain local unless Ship's disclosed plan includes an approved remote action.
 
-**Status:** [`v4.0.3`](https://github.com/ViktorsBaikers/DevRites/releases/tag/v4.0.3): see [`CHANGELOG.md`](CHANGELOG.md) for release notes.
+**Status:** [`v4.0.4`](https://github.com/ViktorsBaikers/DevRites/releases/tag/v4.0.4): see [`CHANGELOG.md`](CHANGELOG.md) for release notes.
 
 This is the latest published release; `main` may contain unreleased work.
 

package/pack/.claude/skills/devrites-lib/reference/reply-contract.md

@@ -56,4 +56,16 @@ Record: .devrites/archive/<slug>/ship.md
 ```
 
 Claims such as proved, reviewed, sealed, shipped, or complete must point to real
-output or an artifact. Use exactly one recommended next action.
+output or an artifact. Use exactly one recommended next action except for
+terminal agent-owned technical exhaustion, which has no runnable action.
+
+For that terminal case use:
+
+```text
+Stopped: Technical recovery exhausted
+Blocking: <causal fingerprint and invariant>
+Attempts: <three failed approaches and decisive reproduction>
+No runnable recovery command: unchanged reinvocation remains blocked
+Next: none — requires new evidence or changed failure conditions
+Record: <artifact path>
+```

package/pack/.claude/skills/devrites-lib/reference/standards/afk-hitl.md

@@ -240,8 +240,10 @@ changes, not a request for permission to retry.
   make a fourth unchanged or related attempt for the same root cause. There is
   no recovery counter file or command.
 - **Classify exhaustion:** human-owned contract/risk/access gaps open their gate. Otherwise
-  preserve reproduction/dead ends, set `Status: blocked` and `Next step: /rite-plan unblock`,
-  with no question or `/rite-resolve`.
+  preserve reproduction/dead ends, set `Status: blocked` and `Next step: none — technical recovery exhausted for <causal fingerprint>; requires new evidence or changed failure conditions`.
+  Do not emit `/rite-plan unblock`, another phase command, a question, or
+  `/rite-resolve`. Reinvocation with the unchanged fingerprint remains blocked
+  and never resets the retry cap.
 - **Reassess no-progress loops:** After repeated attempts without progress, stop and
   reassess the failure and approach rather than continuing blindly.
 - **Resolve agent-owned questions first.** Before raising a question, try to answer it from the code, the docs,

package/pack/.claude/skills/rite-autocomplete/SKILL.md

@@ -92,6 +92,9 @@ default and **Full** for high-risk scope or explicit `--full`; profiles are defi
 5. **Apply stop conditions at every gate** ([reference/stop-conditions.md](reference/stop-conditions.md)):
    on hard-risk / blocking / escalating / NO-GO / budget-exhausted / still-low-confidence
    → write `state.md` (`Status`, `Next step`), surface *why*, and **STOP**.
+   Exhausted agent-owned technical recovery uses the terminal `Next step: none`
+   marker and never hands the user `/rite-plan unblock` or another routine
+   phase command.
    **Completion:** either no stop condition is active, or the stopped cursor and reason
    are durable and no later phase has been invoked.
 6. **Seal GO → ship boundary.** With `--ship` / `--yolo`, proceed through

package/pack/.claude/skills/rite-autocomplete/reference/stop-conditions.md

@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 # Stop conditions: when autocomplete must pause for a human
 
 On these conditions, write `state.md` (`awaiting_human` or `blocked`), report
-the reason and one resume command, notify if configured, and stop. `--ship`
-cannot bypass them.
+the reason and one resume command when an actual human/safety/access action can
+change the state, notify if configured, and stop. Exhausted agent-owned
+technical recovery is terminal for its unchanged causal fingerprint: record
+`Next step: none` and no runnable recovery command. `--ship` cannot bypass them.
 
 ## Always stop (irreversible-risk list: from `afk-hitl.md`)
 
@@ -25,6 +27,10 @@ and any bounded remediation, then resumes the originating phase. Persist
 submit. Stop only when recovery is exhausted or the remaining choice is a real
 human/safety/access gate.
 
+On technical exhaustion, preserve the fingerprint, reproduction, attempts, and
+dead ends, then stop without `/rite-plan unblock` or another phase command.
+Reinvocation with unchanged evidence remains blocked and does not reset the cap.
+
 ## Stop on gate severity
 
 - `blocking` gate fires → synchronous pause.
@@ -69,6 +75,10 @@ human/safety/access gate.
 ## How to stop well
 
 State must be enough for a fresh agent to resume cold:
-- `state.md`: `Status`, the blocking reason, and a single `Next step` command.
+- `state.md`: `Status`, the blocking reason, and either a single actionable
+  `Next step` command or the terminal `none — technical recovery exhausted`
+  marker.
 - The relevant `questions.md` / `drift.md` / `seal.md` entry that explains the pause.
-- A one-line user-facing message: *what* stopped it and *what command* resumes.
+- A one-line user-facing message: *what* stopped it and, only when one exists,
+  *what human-owned action* resumes. A terminal technical blocker names no
+  routine Plan/Vet/retry command.

package/pack/.claude/skills/rite-build/reference/afk-discipline.md

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ The fail-on-red path:
 2. Green → record the slice. Product-contract/irreversible ambiguity → write the genuine
    human gate. Missing human-only credential/permission → write a human-intervention gate.
 3. Any other exhausted objective failure → set `Status: blocked`, preserve the reproduction,
-   set `Next step: /rite-plan unblock`, and STOP without a qid.
+   set `Next step: none — technical recovery exhausted for <causal fingerprint>; requires new evidence or changed failure conditions`, and STOP without a qid or runnable phase command. Reinvocation with the unchanged fingerprint remains blocked and does not reset the cap.
 4. Fire `notify:` only for an actual `awaiting_human` transition.
 
 AFK never starts the next slice while checks are red and never asks the human to approve

package/pack/.claude/skills/rite-spec/reference/state-workspace.md

@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ None.
 | active_slice | none |
 | slice_mode | none |
 | risk | none |
-| next_action | <single command + reason> |
+| next_action | <single command + reason, or terminal: none — technical recovery exhausted for an unchanged causal fingerprint> |
 | return_phase | <originating later phase; clarification or agent-owned technical backtracking only> |
 | return_next_action | <saved originating command> |
 

package/pack/generated/claude/skills/devrites-lib/reference/reply-contract.md

@@ -56,4 +56,16 @@ Record: .devrites/archive/<slug>/ship.md
 ```
 
 Claims such as proved, reviewed, sealed, shipped, or complete must point to real
-output or an artifact. Use exactly one recommended next action.
+output or an artifact. Use exactly one recommended next action except for
+terminal agent-owned technical exhaustion, which has no runnable action.
+
+For that terminal case use:
+
+```text
+Stopped: Technical recovery exhausted
+Blocking: <causal fingerprint and invariant>
+Attempts: <three failed approaches and decisive reproduction>
+No runnable recovery command: unchanged reinvocation remains blocked
+Next: none — requires new evidence or changed failure conditions
+Record: <artifact path>
+```

package/pack/generated/claude/skills/devrites-lib/reference/standards/afk-hitl.md

@@ -240,8 +240,10 @@ changes, not a request for permission to retry.
   make a fourth unchanged or related attempt for the same root cause. There is
   no recovery counter file or command.
 - **Classify exhaustion:** human-owned contract/risk/access gaps open their gate. Otherwise
-  preserve reproduction/dead ends, set `Status: blocked` and `Next step: /rite-plan unblock`,
-  with no question or `/rite-resolve`.
+  preserve reproduction/dead ends, set `Status: blocked` and `Next step: none — technical recovery exhausted for <causal fingerprint>; requires new evidence or changed failure conditions`.
+  Do not emit `/rite-plan unblock`, another phase command, a question, or
+  `/rite-resolve`. Reinvocation with the unchanged fingerprint remains blocked
+  and never resets the retry cap.
 - **Reassess no-progress loops:** After repeated attempts without progress, stop and
   reassess the failure and approach rather than continuing blindly.
 - **Resolve agent-owned questions first.** Before raising a question, try to answer it from the code, the docs,

package/pack/generated/claude/skills/rite-autocomplete/SKILL.md

@@ -92,6 +92,9 @@ default and **Full** for high-risk scope or explicit `--full`; profiles are defi
 5. **Apply stop conditions at every gate** ([reference/stop-conditions.md](reference/stop-conditions.md)):
    on hard-risk / blocking / escalating / NO-GO / budget-exhausted / still-low-confidence
    → write `state.md` (`Status`, `Next step`), surface *why*, and **STOP**.
+   Exhausted agent-owned technical recovery uses the terminal `Next step: none`
+   marker and never hands the user `/rite-plan unblock` or another routine
+   phase command.
    **Completion:** either no stop condition is active, or the stopped cursor and reason
    are durable and no later phase has been invoked.
 6. **Seal GO → ship boundary.** With `--ship` / `--yolo`, proceed through

package/pack/generated/claude/skills/rite-autocomplete/reference/stop-conditions.md

@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 # Stop conditions: when autocomplete must pause for a human
 
 On these conditions, write `state.md` (`awaiting_human` or `blocked`), report
-the reason and one resume command, notify if configured, and stop. `--ship`
-cannot bypass them.
+the reason and one resume command when an actual human/safety/access action can
+change the state, notify if configured, and stop. Exhausted agent-owned
+technical recovery is terminal for its unchanged causal fingerprint: record
+`Next step: none` and no runnable recovery command. `--ship` cannot bypass them.
 
 ## Always stop (irreversible-risk list: from `afk-hitl.md`)
 
@@ -25,6 +27,10 @@ and any bounded remediation, then resumes the originating phase. Persist
 submit. Stop only when recovery is exhausted or the remaining choice is a real
 human/safety/access gate.
 
+On technical exhaustion, preserve the fingerprint, reproduction, attempts, and
+dead ends, then stop without `/rite-plan unblock` or another phase command.
+Reinvocation with unchanged evidence remains blocked and does not reset the cap.
+
 ## Stop on gate severity
 
 - `blocking` gate fires → synchronous pause.
@@ -69,6 +75,10 @@ human/safety/access gate.
 ## How to stop well
 
 State must be enough for a fresh agent to resume cold:
-- `state.md`: `Status`, the blocking reason, and a single `Next step` command.
+- `state.md`: `Status`, the blocking reason, and either a single actionable
+  `Next step` command or the terminal `none — technical recovery exhausted`
+  marker.
 - The relevant `questions.md` / `drift.md` / `seal.md` entry that explains the pause.
-- A one-line user-facing message: *what* stopped it and *what command* resumes.
+- A one-line user-facing message: *what* stopped it and, only when one exists,
+  *what human-owned action* resumes. A terminal technical blocker names no
+  routine Plan/Vet/retry command.

package/pack/generated/claude/skills/rite-build/reference/afk-discipline.md

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ The fail-on-red path:
 2. Green → record the slice. Product-contract/irreversible ambiguity → write the genuine
    human gate. Missing human-only credential/permission → write a human-intervention gate.
 3. Any other exhausted objective failure → set `Status: blocked`, preserve the reproduction,
-   set `Next step: /rite-plan unblock`, and STOP without a qid.
+   set `Next step: none — technical recovery exhausted for <causal fingerprint>; requires new evidence or changed failure conditions`, and STOP without a qid or runnable phase command. Reinvocation with the unchanged fingerprint remains blocked and does not reset the cap.
 4. Fire `notify:` only for an actual `awaiting_human` transition.
 
 AFK never starts the next slice while checks are red and never asks the human to approve

package/pack/generated/claude/skills/rite-spec/reference/state-workspace.md

@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ None.
 | active_slice | none |
 | slice_mode | none |
 | risk | none |
-| next_action | <single command + reason> |
+| next_action | <single command + reason, or terminal: none — technical recovery exhausted for an unchanged causal fingerprint> |
 | return_phase | <originating later phase; clarification or agent-owned technical backtracking only> |
 | return_next_action | <saved originating command> |
 

package/pack/generated/codex/skills/devrites-lib/reference/reply-contract.md

@@ -56,4 +56,16 @@ Record: .devrites/archive/<slug>/ship.md
 ```
 
 Claims such as proved, reviewed, sealed, shipped, or complete must point to real
-output or an artifact. Use exactly one recommended next action.
+output or an artifact. Use exactly one recommended next action except for
+terminal agent-owned technical exhaustion, which has no runnable action.
+
+For that terminal case use:
+
+```text
+Stopped: Technical recovery exhausted
+Blocking: <causal fingerprint and invariant>
+Attempts: <three failed approaches and decisive reproduction>
+No runnable recovery command: unchanged reinvocation remains blocked
+Next: none — requires new evidence or changed failure conditions
+Record: <artifact path>
+```

package/pack/generated/codex/skills/devrites-lib/reference/standards/afk-hitl.md

@@ -240,8 +240,10 @@ changes, not a request for permission to retry.
   make a fourth unchanged or related attempt for the same root cause. There is
   no recovery counter file or command.
 - **Classify exhaustion:** human-owned contract/risk/access gaps open their gate. Otherwise
-  preserve reproduction/dead ends, set `Status: blocked` and `Next step: $rite-plan unblock`,
-  with no question or `$rite-resolve`.
+  preserve reproduction/dead ends, set `Status: blocked` and `Next step: none — technical recovery exhausted for <causal fingerprint>; requires new evidence or changed failure conditions`.
+  Do not emit `$rite-plan unblock`, another phase command, a question, or
+  `$rite-resolve`. Reinvocation with the unchanged fingerprint remains blocked
+  and never resets the retry cap.
 - **Reassess no-progress loops:** After repeated attempts without progress, stop and
   reassess the failure and approach rather than continuing blindly.
 - **Resolve agent-owned questions first.** Before raising a question, try to answer it from the code, the docs,

package/pack/generated/codex/skills/rite-autocomplete/SKILL.md

@@ -92,6 +92,9 @@ default and **Full** for high-risk scope or explicit `--full`; profiles are defi
 5. **Apply stop conditions at every gate** ([reference/stop-conditions.md](reference/stop-conditions.md)):
    on hard-risk / blocking / escalating / NO-GO / budget-exhausted / still-low-confidence
    → write `state.md` (`Status`, `Next step`), surface *why*, and **STOP**.
+   Exhausted agent-owned technical recovery uses the terminal `Next step: none`
+   marker and never hands the user `$rite-plan unblock` or another routine
+   phase command.
    **Completion:** either no stop condition is active, or the stopped cursor and reason
    are durable and no later phase has been invoked.
 6. **Seal GO → ship boundary.** With `--ship` / `--yolo`, proceed through

package/pack/generated/codex/skills/rite-autocomplete/reference/stop-conditions.md

@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 # Stop conditions: when autocomplete must pause for a human
 
 On these conditions, write `state.md` (`awaiting_human` or `blocked`), report
-the reason and one resume command, notify if configured, and stop. `--ship`
-cannot bypass them.
+the reason and one resume command when an actual human/safety/access action can
+change the state, notify if configured, and stop. Exhausted agent-owned
+technical recovery is terminal for its unchanged causal fingerprint: record
+`Next step: none` and no runnable recovery command. `--ship` cannot bypass them.
 
 ## Always stop (irreversible-risk list: from `afk-hitl.md`)
 
@@ -25,6 +27,10 @@ and any bounded remediation, then resumes the originating phase. Persist
 submit. Stop only when recovery is exhausted or the remaining choice is a real
 human/safety/access gate.
 
+On technical exhaustion, preserve the fingerprint, reproduction, attempts, and
+dead ends, then stop without `$rite-plan unblock` or another phase command.
+Reinvocation with unchanged evidence remains blocked and does not reset the cap.
+
 ## Stop on gate severity
 
 - `blocking` gate fires → synchronous pause.
@@ -69,6 +75,10 @@ human/safety/access gate.
 ## How to stop well
 
 State must be enough for a fresh agent to resume cold:
-- `state.md`: `Status`, the blocking reason, and a single `Next step` command.
+- `state.md`: `Status`, the blocking reason, and either a single actionable
+  `Next step` command or the terminal `none — technical recovery exhausted`
+  marker.
 - The relevant `questions.md` / `drift.md` / `seal.md` entry that explains the pause.
-- A one-line user-facing message: *what* stopped it and *what command* resumes.
+- A one-line user-facing message: *what* stopped it and, only when one exists,
+  *what human-owned action* resumes. A terminal technical blocker names no
+  routine Plan/Vet/retry command.

package/pack/generated/codex/skills/rite-build/reference/afk-discipline.md

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ The fail-on-red path:
 2. Green → record the slice. Product-contract/irreversible ambiguity → write the genuine
    human gate. Missing human-only credential/permission → write a human-intervention gate.
 3. Any other exhausted objective failure → set `Status: blocked`, preserve the reproduction,
-   set `Next step: $rite-plan unblock`, and STOP without a qid.
+   set `Next step: none — technical recovery exhausted for <causal fingerprint>; requires new evidence or changed failure conditions`, and STOP without a qid or runnable phase command. Reinvocation with the unchanged fingerprint remains blocked and does not reset the cap.
 4. Fire `notify:` only for an actual `awaiting_human` transition.
 
 AFK never starts the next slice while checks are red and never asks the human to approve

package/pack/generated/codex/skills/rite-spec/reference/state-workspace.md

@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ None.
 | active_slice | none |
 | slice_mode | none |
 | risk | none |
-| next_action | <single command + reason> |
+| next_action | <single command + reason, or terminal: none — technical recovery exhausted for an unchanged causal fingerprint> |
 | return_phase | <originating later phase; clarification or agent-owned technical backtracking only> |
 | return_next_action | <saved originating command> |
 

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "devrites",
-  "version": "4.0.3",
+  "version": "4.0.4",
   "description": "DevRites: a disciplined senior-engineer workflow pack for Claude Code and Codex",
   "license": "SEE LICENSE IN LICENSE",
   "homepage": "https://github.com/ViktorsBaikers/DevRites#readme",