thoth-agents 0.3.9 → 0.3.10

package/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
     {
       "name": "thoth-agents",
       "description": "Adaptive root orchestration, six specialist subagents, and a runtime-autonomous Spec Kit-compatible SDD bundle.",
-      "version": "0.3.9",
+      "version": "0.3.10",
       "author": {
         "name": "thoth-agents maintainers"
       },

package/dist/agents/prompt-dialects.d.ts

@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@ import type { AgentDispatchMethod, AgentRoleName } from '../harness/core/agent-p
 import type { HarnessCapabilities, HarnessId } from '../harness/types';
 export type AgentPromptRole = AgentRoleName;
 export interface LifecycleNomenclature {
+    freshDelegation: string;
+    sameAssignmentContinuation: string;
+    independentContext: string;
     statusAction: string;
     terminalState: string;
     nonterminalState: string;

package/dist/{chunk-XEEYNMPC.js → chunk-JBG7XMIG.js}

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ import {
   updateOpenCodeMainConfig,
   writeConfig,
   writeLiteConfig
-} from "./chunk-2TLT6WWY.js";
+} from "./chunk-M2WF46BP.js";
 
 // src/cli/codex-paths.ts
 import { homedir } from "os";

package/dist/{chunk-2TLT6WWY.js → chunk-M2WF46BP.js}

@@ -802,6 +802,9 @@ var OPENCODE_PROMPT_DIALECT = {
     progressTool: "todowrite",
     hostStatusSurface: "task_status",
     lifecycle: {
+      freshDelegation: "`task` without `task_id`",
+      sameAssignmentContinuation: "`task` with the prior `task_id`",
+      independentContext: "omitting `task_id` creates an isolated child session",
       statusAction: "wait, poll, and collect",
       terminalState: "terminal task_status result",
       nonterminalState: "nonterminal task_status result",
@@ -835,6 +838,9 @@ var CODEX_PROMPT_DIALECT = {
     progressTool: "functions.update_plan",
     hostStatusSurface: "collaboration.list_agents",
     lifecycle: {
+      freshDelegation: '`collaboration.spawn_agent` with `fork_turns="none"`',
+      sameAssignmentContinuation: "`collaboration.followup_task` for the existing agent",
+      independentContext: '`fork_turns="none"` prevents parent-history inheritance',
       statusAction: "wait and inspect status",
       terminalState: "terminal mailbox completion or failure update",
       nonterminalState: "collaboration.wait_agent timeout or silence",
@@ -875,6 +881,9 @@ var CLAUDE_CODE_PROMPT_DIALECT = {
     progressTool: "TodoWrite",
     hostStatusSurface: "TodoWrite",
     lifecycle: {
+      freshDelegation: "a normal `Agent` invocation",
+      sameAssignmentContinuation: "`SendMessage` to the prior agent ID",
+      independentContext: "do not use `fork` for independent work",
       statusAction: "wait, inspect, and collect",
       terminalState: "terminal TaskOutput result",
       nonterminalState: "nonterminal TaskOutput result",
@@ -1013,6 +1022,10 @@ var ORCHESTRATION_POLICY = {
     "Delegate only when specialization, context isolation, or independent parallel work creates a net gain.",
     "Prefer child agents for read-heavy exploration, research, analysis, and verification.",
     "Use one writer for each mutable surface and never parallelize overlapping writes.",
+    "A fresh subagent instance is the default when the objective, SDD phase, mutable surface, or independent judgment changes.",
+    "Continue an existing subagent only to steer, complete, or clarify the same bounded assignment; completed agents are not a reusable role pool.",
+    "Every Oracle plan review, verification round, and approval or PASS judgment uses a fresh Oracle instance; reuse is limited to clarifying current findings.",
+    "Wait and status operations collect only the active nonterminal assignment and do not authorize later reuse.",
     "Child agents return distilled evidence instead of raw logs or file dumps."
   ]
 };
@@ -1201,85 +1214,6 @@ var SDD_PHASES = [
     reason: "Transactionally sync declared durable deltas and close verified work with a dated audit trail."
   }
 ];
-var SDD_ARTIFACT_GRAPH = [
-  {
-    id: "spec",
-    path: "spec.md",
-    producedBy: "specify",
-    consumes: [],
-    requiredFor: ["accelerated", "full"]
-  },
-  {
-    id: "plan",
-    path: "plan.md",
-    producedBy: "plan",
-    consumes: ["spec"],
-    requiredFor: ["accelerated", "full"]
-  },
-  {
-    id: "tasks",
-    path: "tasks.md",
-    producedBy: "tasks",
-    consumes: ["spec", "plan"],
-    requiredFor: ["accelerated", "full"]
-  },
-  {
-    id: "requirements-checklist",
-    path: "checklists/requirements.md",
-    producedBy: "checklist",
-    consumes: ["spec"],
-    requiredFor: []
-  },
-  {
-    id: "research",
-    path: "research.md",
-    producedBy: "plan",
-    consumes: ["spec"],
-    requiredFor: []
-  },
-  {
-    id: "data-model",
-    path: "data-model.md",
-    producedBy: "plan",
-    consumes: ["spec"],
-    requiredFor: []
-  },
-  {
-    id: "contracts",
-    path: "contracts/",
-    producedBy: "plan",
-    consumes: ["spec"],
-    requiredFor: []
-  },
-  {
-    id: "quickstart",
-    path: "quickstart.md",
-    producedBy: "plan",
-    consumes: ["spec", "plan"],
-    requiredFor: []
-  },
-  {
-    id: "plan-review",
-    path: "plan-review.md",
-    producedBy: "plan-review",
-    consumes: ["spec", "plan", "tasks"],
-    requiredFor: []
-  },
-  {
-    id: "verify-report",
-    path: "verify-report.md",
-    producedBy: "verify",
-    consumes: ["spec", "plan", "tasks"],
-    requiredFor: ["accelerated", "full"]
-  },
-  {
-    id: "archive-report",
-    path: "archive-report.md",
-    producedBy: "archive",
-    consumes: ["spec", "plan", "tasks", "verify-report"],
-    requiredFor: ["accelerated", "full"]
-  }
-];
 var SDD_ROUTE_EXECUTION_POLICIES = [
   {
     route: "direct",
@@ -1372,13 +1306,6 @@ function getSddRouteExecutionPolicy(route) {
     validationGates: [...policy.validationGates]
   };
 }
-function getSddArtifactGraph() {
-  return SDD_ARTIFACT_GRAPH.map((artifact) => ({
-    ...artifact,
-    consumes: [...artifact.consumes],
-    requiredFor: [...artifact.requiredFor]
-  }));
-}
 function getSddPhase(id) {
   const phase = SDD_PHASES.find((candidate) => candidate.id === id);
   if (!phase) {
@@ -1486,9 +1413,6 @@ function renderSddRoute(route) {
 function renderRoleDirectory() {
   return getAgentPackContract().roles.filter((role) => role.name !== "orchestrator").map((role) => `- ${roleTemplate(role.name)}: ${role.responsibility}`).join("\n");
 }
-function renderArtifactSummary() {
-  return getSddArtifactGraph().filter((artifact) => artifact.requiredFor.length === 0).map((artifact) => artifact.path).join(", ");
-}
 function createOrchestratorPromptSections() {
   const workflow = getSddWorkflowContract();
   const policy = getAgentPackContract().orchestrationPolicy;
@@ -1504,10 +1428,19 @@ You are the adaptive root for thoth-agents. Keep requirements, decisions, execut
 - Delegate only for net gain from specialization, context isolation, review, or safe parallelism. The maximum delegation depth is ${policy.maxDelegationDepth}; children never delegate.
 - Maintain one writer for each mutable surface. Parallelize only independent work with no overlapping writes.
 - Keep prompts bounded; request distilled evidence, not raw logs or full files.
+- Preserve unrelated changes; report changed files, evidence, risks, and capability gaps.
 - Use \`{{userQuestionTool}}\` only when a material unresolved choice changes the result. Continue all safe non-blocked work first.
 - Use \`{{progressTool}}\` only when the work genuinely has multiple dependent steps.
 </operating-model>
 
+<delegation-lifecycle>
+- A new objective, SDD phase, mutable surface, or independent judgment is a work boundary: start a fresh specialist using {{lifecycleFreshDelegation}}. Never treat completed agents as a reusable role pool.
+- Independent context: {{lifecycleIndependentContext}}.
+- Continue with {{lifecycleSameAssignmentContinuation}} only to steer, complete, or clarify the same bounded assignment; never to cross a work boundary.
+- {{lifecycleSameSessionProbe}} only collects the active nonterminal assignment and does not authorize later reuse.
+- Every Oracle plan review, verification round, and approval or PASS judgment uses a fresh Oracle instance. An existing Oracle session may only clarify its current findings.
+</delegation-lifecycle>
+
 <routing>
 ${renderRoleDirectory()}
 </routing>
@@ -1541,29 +1474,20 @@ ${renderRoleDirectory()}
 </external-skills>
 
 <memory>
-- Load the installed \`thoth-mem\` skill for resume or prior work and provider-backed memory; never invent its protocol.
-- Preserve a durable decision, root cause, convention, or discovery only when reusable. Root owns the stable root session ID, project, lifecycle, real-user intent, and authorization; never invent identity or confirmed effects.
-- Follow the skill at verified compaction and a meaningful semantic boundary. Children receive only bounded MEMORY dispatch and never own root lifecycle.
-- \`openspec/\` remains canonical; do not mirror SDD phase artifacts into provider memory. A memory failure degrades memory only and does not block unrelated implementation or verification.
+- Load the installed \`thoth-mem\` skill for resume or prior work; never invent its protocol.
+- Preserve a durable decision, root cause, convention, or discovery only when reusable. Root owns the stable root session ID, project, lifecycle, real-user intent, and authorization.
+- Follow the skill at verified compaction or a meaningful semantic boundary; children receive only bounded MEMORY and never own root lifecycle.
+- \`openspec/\` remains canonical; do not mirror SDD phase artifacts. A memory failure does not block unrelated work.
 </memory>
 
 <artifacts>
-- Preserve Spec Kit semantics inside ${workflow.artifactRoot}.
-- Accelerated and Full require spec.md, plan.md, tasks.md, verify-report.md, and archive-report.md; optional when useful: ${renderArtifactSummary()}.
-- Root owns openspec/ coordination and thoth-sdd gates; product work has one writer, and root alone moves [~] -> [x] after evidence.
-- ${roleTemplate("oracle")} returns read-only findings. Root persists verification; after PASS, archive syncs declared durable deltas and moves the change to openspec/changes/archive/YYYY-MM-DD-<feature>/.
+- In ${workflow.artifactRoot}, Accelerated and Full require spec.md, plan.md, tasks.md, verify-report.md, and archive-report.md.
+- Root owns openspec/ gates and task state, moves [~] -> [x] after evidence, and keeps one product writer.
+- ${roleTemplate("oracle")} returns read-only findings; root persists verification and archives declared durable deltas after PASS.
 </artifacts>
 
-<execution>
-- Validate contracts and tests first; use test-first work for behavior. Root or one writer implements; do not delegate merely because an agent exists.
-- ${roleTemplate("oracle")} owns selected plan review and every verification; root and writers never self-approve.
-- Preserve unrelated working-tree changes. Never instruct an agent to discard them.
-- Report changed files, evidence, risks, and capability gaps truthfully.
-</execution>
-
 <delegation>
-- Dispatch through \`{{delegationTool}}\` with this envelope; use the same boundaries for non-SDD work.
-- Parallelize only independent work and await requested results before synthesis.
+- Use this envelope for all \`{{delegationTool}}\` delegation; parallelize only independent work and await results.
 - Child return fields: conclusion, evidence, verification, risks, openQuestions, nextAction.
 
 ${renderSddPhaseDispatchTemplate()}
@@ -1741,6 +1665,15 @@ function renderRoleText(section, dialect) {
   ).replaceAll("{{userQuestionTool}}", dialect.tools.userQuestionTool).replaceAll("{{progressTool}}", dialect.tools.progressTool).replaceAll(
     "{{lifecycleStatusAction}}",
     dialect.tools.lifecycle.statusAction
+  ).replaceAll(
+    "{{lifecycleFreshDelegation}}",
+    dialect.tools.lifecycle.freshDelegation
+  ).replaceAll(
+    "{{lifecycleIndependentContext}}",
+    dialect.tools.lifecycle.independentContext
+  ).replaceAll(
+    "{{lifecycleSameAssignmentContinuation}}",
+    dialect.tools.lifecycle.sameAssignmentContinuation
   ).replaceAll(
     "{{lifecycleTerminalState}}",
     dialect.tools.lifecycle.terminalState

package/dist/{chunk-MY2GIOOH.js → chunk-TKIDBRM3.js}

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import {
   getStepBudgetPromptSection,
   loadAgentPrompt,
   renderRolePrompt
-} from "./chunk-2TLT6WWY.js";
+} from "./chunk-M2WF46BP.js";
 
 // src/agents/deep.ts
 var DEEP_PROMPT = renderRolePrompt(

package/dist/cli/index.js

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import {
   getOpenCodeVersion,
   isOpenCodeInstalled,
   opencodeAdapter
-} from "../chunk-MY2GIOOH.js";
+} from "../chunk-TKIDBRM3.js";
 import {
   CODEX_ROLE_NAMES,
   REQUIRED_SKILLS,
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ import {
   listOperationHarnesses,
   normalizeEffortSelection,
   syncOpenCodeOwnedSkills
-} from "../chunk-XEEYNMPC.js";
+} from "../chunk-JBG7XMIG.js";
 import {
   ALL_AGENT_NAMES,
   detectCurrentConfig,
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ import {
   resolveExecutingPackageVersion,
   updateOpenCodeMainConfig,
   writeLiteConfig
-} from "../chunk-2TLT6WWY.js";
+} from "../chunk-M2WF46BP.js";
 
 // src/cli/index.ts
 import { pathToFileURL } from "url";

package/dist/cli/tui/index.js

@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ import {
   defaultTuiOperations,
   effortChoicesForModel,
   listOperationHarnesses
-} from "../../chunk-XEEYNMPC.js";
-import "../../chunk-2TLT6WWY.js";
+} from "../../chunk-JBG7XMIG.js";
+import "../../chunk-M2WF46BP.js";
 
 // src/cli/tui/index.tsx
 import { render } from "ink";

package/dist/harness/core/sdd.d.ts

@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ export declare const SDD_PHASE_PROTOCOLS: readonly [{
     readonly id: "specify";
     readonly objective: "Create a testable, implementation-neutral feature contract in spec.md.";
     readonly requiredInputs: ["User intent and accepted scope", "Explore handoff when the route is full", "Project constitution and existing public contracts when relevant"];
-    readonly instructions: ["Record intent and scope as Why, Impact, and Affected capabilities before prescribing any contract.", "Define prioritized independent stories and map each story to its FR-### and SC-### contracts with Covers metadata.", "Give every normative MUST or SHALL requirement a descriptive title and declare it INTERNAL or as an ADDED, MODIFIED, REMOVED, or RENAMED durable capability delta.", "Classify every success criterion as buildable or outcome; both remain measurable, but only buildable criteria require implementation task coverage.", "Capture assumptions, acceptance scenarios, edge cases, dependencies, and explicit non-goals.", "Use a clarification marker only when no safe default exists and the answer materially changes scope or behavior."];
+    readonly instructions: ["Record intent and scope as Why, Impact, and Affected capabilities before prescribing any contract.", "Define prioritized independent stories and map each story to its FR-### and SC-### contracts with Covers metadata.", "Inspect each affected canonical capability before choosing durable metadata: ADDED is only for genuinely new behavior; MODIFIED and REMOVED preserve exact existing titles; RENAMED names the exact previous title; only ADDED is valid when the capability is absent.", "Give every normative MUST or SHALL requirement a descriptive title and declare it INTERNAL or as an ADDED, MODIFIED, REMOVED, or RENAMED durable capability delta; treat an ADDED warning on an existing capability as a required semantic-overlap review.", "Classify every success criterion as buildable or outcome; both remain measurable, but only buildable criteria require implementation task coverage.", "Capture assumptions, acceptance scenarios, edge cases, dependencies, and explicit non-goals.", "Use a clarification marker only when no safe default exists and the answer materially changes scope or behavior."];
     readonly allowedWrites: ["openspec/changes/<feature>/spec.md"];
     readonly outputSchema: ["spec.md path", "requirements summary", "open clarifications"];
     readonly doneWhen: ["Every accepted FR and SC is testable, materially unambiguous, mapped to a story, and implementation-neutral."];

package/dist/index.js

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import {
   renderOpenCodeAgentConfigs,
   spawn,
   spawnSync
-} from "./chunk-MY2GIOOH.js";
+} from "./chunk-TKIDBRM3.js";
 import {
   POLL_INTERVAL_BACKGROUND_MS,
   context7,
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import {
   grep_app,
   loadPluginConfig,
   stripJsonComments
-} from "./chunk-2TLT6WWY.js";
+} from "./chunk-M2WF46BP.js";
 
 // src/index.ts
 import { fileURLToPath as fileURLToPath3 } from "url";

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "thoth-agents",
-  "version": "0.3.9",
+  "version": "0.3.10",
   "description": "Adaptive multi-harness orchestration with seven roles, runtime-autonomous Spec Kit-compatible SDD routes, and external provider boundaries.",
   "main": "dist/index.js",
   "types": "dist/index.d.ts",

package/plugin/.claude-plugin/.thoth-agents-plugin-assets.json

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
     {
       "path": "agents/orchestrator.md",
       "kind": "agent-config",
-      "sha256": "sha256:b39b6cb996d5dcb38dc66bb83bfd7d6dacbb75d9e1de9097ce2416e64d630b9e"
+      "sha256": "sha256:9a1a9de425e7499110e457b58481d953391d07841dc319f0f8c7b09d64fa8998"
     },
     {
       "path": "agents/quick.md",

package/plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "thoth-agents",
-  "version": "0.3.9",
+  "version": "0.3.10",
   "description": "Adaptive multi-harness agent pack with seven roles and a runtime-autonomous Spec Kit-compatible SDD bundle for Claude Code.",
   "author": {
     "name": "thoth-agents"

package/plugin/.codex-plugin/plugin.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "thoth-agents",
-  "version": "0.3.9",
+  "version": "0.3.10",
   "description": "Bundled Spec Kit-compatible SDD skills and MCP configuration; the seven-role global Codex layer requires thoth-agents CLI setup.",
   "skills": "./skills/",
   "mcpServers": "./codex.mcp.json"

package/plugin/agents/orchestrator.md

@@ -13,10 +13,19 @@ You are the adaptive root for thoth-agents. Keep requirements, decisions, execut
 - Delegate only for net gain from specialization, context isolation, review, or safe parallelism. The maximum delegation depth is 1; children never delegate.
 - Maintain one writer for each mutable surface. Parallelize only independent work with no overlapping writes.
 - Keep prompts bounded; request distilled evidence, not raw logs or full files.
+- Preserve unrelated changes; report changed files, evidence, risks, and capability gaps.
 - Use `AskUserQuestion` only when a material unresolved choice changes the result. Continue all safe non-blocked work first.
 - Use `TodoWrite` only when the work genuinely has multiple dependent steps.
 </operating-model>
 
+<delegation-lifecycle>
+- A new objective, SDD phase, mutable surface, or independent judgment is a work boundary: start a fresh specialist using a normal `Agent` invocation. Never treat completed agents as a reusable role pool.
+- Independent context: do not use `fork` for independent work.
+- Continue with `SendMessage` to the prior agent ID only to steer, complete, or clarify the same bounded assignment; never to cross a work boundary.
+- TaskOutput on the same task session only collects the active nonterminal assignment and does not authorize later reuse.
+- Every Oracle plan review, verification round, and approval or PASS judgment uses a fresh Oracle instance. An existing Oracle session may only clarify its current findings.
+</delegation-lifecycle>
+
 <routing>
 - thoth-agents:explorer: Resolve broad or uncertain repository questions and return distilled evidence.
 - thoth-agents:librarian: Gather current authoritative evidence and separate documented facts from inference.
@@ -55,29 +64,20 @@ You are the adaptive root for thoth-agents. Keep requirements, decisions, execut
 </external-skills>
 
 <memory>
-- Load the installed `thoth-mem` skill for resume or prior work and provider-backed memory; never invent its protocol.
-- Preserve a durable decision, root cause, convention, or discovery only when reusable. Root owns the stable root session ID, project, lifecycle, real-user intent, and authorization; never invent identity or confirmed effects.
-- Follow the skill at verified compaction and a meaningful semantic boundary. Children receive only bounded MEMORY dispatch and never own root lifecycle.
-- `openspec/` remains canonical; do not mirror SDD phase artifacts into provider memory. A memory failure degrades memory only and does not block unrelated implementation or verification.
+- Load the installed `thoth-mem` skill for resume or prior work; never invent its protocol.
+- Preserve a durable decision, root cause, convention, or discovery only when reusable. Root owns the stable root session ID, project, lifecycle, real-user intent, and authorization.
+- Follow the skill at verified compaction or a meaningful semantic boundary; children receive only bounded MEMORY and never own root lifecycle.
+- `openspec/` remains canonical; do not mirror SDD phase artifacts. A memory failure does not block unrelated work.
 </memory>
 
 <artifacts>
-- Preserve Spec Kit semantics inside openspec/changes/<feature>/.
-- Accelerated and Full require spec.md, plan.md, tasks.md, verify-report.md, and archive-report.md; optional when useful: checklists/requirements.md, research.md, data-model.md, contracts/, quickstart.md, plan-review.md.
-- Root owns openspec/ coordination and thoth-sdd gates; product work has one writer, and root alone moves [~] -> [x] after evidence.
-- thoth-agents:oracle returns read-only findings. Root persists verification; after PASS, archive syncs declared durable deltas and moves the change to openspec/changes/archive/YYYY-MM-DD-<feature>/.
+- In openspec/changes/<feature>/, Accelerated and Full require spec.md, plan.md, tasks.md, verify-report.md, and archive-report.md.
+- Root owns openspec/ gates and task state, moves [~] -> [x] after evidence, and keeps one product writer.
+- thoth-agents:oracle returns read-only findings; root persists verification and archives declared durable deltas after PASS.
 </artifacts>
 
-<execution>
-- Validate contracts and tests first; use test-first work for behavior. Root or one writer implements; do not delegate merely because an agent exists.
-- thoth-agents:oracle owns selected plan review and every verification; root and writers never self-approve.
-- Preserve unrelated working-tree changes. Never instruct an agent to discard them.
-- Report changed files, evidence, risks, and capability gaps truthfully.
-</execution>
-
 <delegation>
-- Dispatch through `Agent` with this envelope; use the same boundaries for non-SDD work.
-- Parallelize only independent work and await requested results before synthesis.
+- Use this envelope for all `Agent` delegation; parallelize only independent work and await results.
 - Child return fields: conclusion, evidence, verification, risks, openQuestions, nextAction.
 
 ## PHASE

package/plugin/skills/thoth-archive/SKILL.md

@@ -31,6 +31,13 @@ The script reads delta metadata directly from `spec.md`:
 - `[RENAMED capability FROM Previous title]` renames and replaces it.
 - `[INTERNAL]` never changes `openspec/specs/`.
 
+The SDD validator preflights these operations against the canonical requirement
+titles from `specify` onward. Archive reuses the same ordered parser and
+preflight as a final defense before staging writes, preserving stable
+`SDD-SPEC-DELTA-*` incompatibility codes. An `ADDED` warning for an existing
+nonempty capability requires semantic-overlap review because differently named
+requirements cannot be proven distinct by exact-title tooling alone.
+
 All delta targets are validated before any permanent specification changes. The
 operation stages and rolls back the full canonical update if a delta, report
 update, or final move raises a handled error in the active process. Report and

package/plugin/skills/thoth-archive/scripts/archive.mjs

@@ -10,8 +10,13 @@ import {
   writeFileSync,
 } from 'node:fs';
 import { basename, dirname, join, resolve } from 'node:path';
+import {
+  CAPABILITY_PATTERN,
+  parseCanonicalSpec,
+  parseRequirementDelta as parseSharedRequirementDelta,
+  preflightRequirementDeltas,
+} from '../../thoth-sdd/scripts/durable-deltas.mjs';
 
-const CAPABILITY_PATTERN = /^[a-z0-9]+(?:-[a-z0-9]+)*$/;
 const TEST_FAULTS = new Set(
   (process.env.THOTH_ARCHIVE_TEST_FAULT ?? '')
     .split(',')
@@ -270,26 +275,8 @@ function assertArchivable(change, contract) {
 }
 
 function parseDeltaMetadata(metadata) {
-  if (metadata === 'INTERNAL') return { operation: 'INTERNAL' };
-
-  const change = /^(ADDED|MODIFIED|REMOVED)\s+(\S+)$/.exec(metadata);
-  if (change && CAPABILITY_PATTERN.test(change[2])) {
-    return { operation: change[1], capability: change[2] };
-  }
-
-  const rename = /^RENAMED\s+(\S+)\s+FROM\s+(.+)$/.exec(metadata);
-  if (
-    rename &&
-    CAPABILITY_PATTERN.test(rename[1]) &&
-    rename[2].trim().length > 0
-  ) {
-    return {
-      operation: 'RENAMED',
-      capability: rename[1],
-      previousTitle: rename[2].trim(),
-    };
-  }
-
+  const delta = parseSharedRequirementDelta(metadata);
+  if (delta) return delta;
   throw new Error(`Invalid requirement delta metadata: [${metadata}]`);
 }
 
@@ -418,27 +405,6 @@ function parseChangeSpec(spec) {
   };
 }
 
-function parseCanonicalSpec(content) {
-  const headings = [...content.matchAll(/^### Requirement:\s+(.+?)\s*$/gm)];
-  const requirements = new Map();
-  const prefix =
-    headings.length === 0
-      ? content.trimEnd()
-      : content.slice(0, headings[0].index).trimEnd();
-
-  for (const [index, heading] of headings.entries()) {
-    const start = heading.index ?? 0;
-    const end = headings[index + 1]?.index ?? content.length;
-    const title = heading[1].trim();
-    if (requirements.has(title)) {
-      throw new Error(`Canonical specification repeats requirement: ${title}`);
-    }
-    requirements.set(title, content.slice(start, end).trim());
-  }
-
-  return { prefix, requirements };
-}
-
 function newCanonicalSpec(capability) {
   const title = capability
     .split('-')
@@ -480,41 +446,34 @@ function planCanonicalUpdates(specRoot, deltas) {
   for (const [capability, capabilityDeltas] of byCapability) {
     const path = join(specRoot, capability, 'spec.md');
     const present = existsSync(path);
-    const canonical = present
-      ? parseCanonicalSpec(readFileSync(path, 'utf8'))
-      : newCanonicalSpec(capability);
+    let canonical;
+    try {
+      canonical = present
+        ? parseCanonicalSpec(readFileSync(path, 'utf8'))
+        : newCanonicalSpec(capability);
+    } catch (error) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `SDD-SPEC-DELTA-BASELINE: ${capability} canonical baseline is invalid: ${errorMessage(error)}`,
+      );
+    }
+    const preflight = preflightRequirementDeltas({
+      capability,
+      present,
+      requirements: canonical.requirements,
+      deltas: capabilityDeltas,
+    });
+    if (preflight.errors.length > 0) {
+      const [first] = preflight.errors;
+      throw new Error(`${first.code}: ${first.message}`);
+    }
 
     for (const delta of capabilityDeltas) {
       if (delta.operation === 'ADDED') {
-        if (canonical.requirements.has(delta.title)) {
-          throw new Error(
-            `${capability} already contains requirement: ${delta.title}`,
-          );
-        }
         canonical.requirements.set(delta.title, renderRequirement(delta));
         continue;
       }
 
-      if (!present) {
-        throw new Error(
-          `${capability} has no canonical specification for ${delta.operation}`,
-        );
-      }
-
       if (delta.operation === 'RENAMED') {
-        if (!canonical.requirements.has(delta.previousTitle)) {
-          throw new Error(
-            `${capability} does not contain requirement: ${delta.previousTitle}`,
-          );
-        }
-        if (
-          delta.previousTitle !== delta.title &&
-          canonical.requirements.has(delta.title)
-        ) {
-          throw new Error(
-            `${capability} already contains requirement: ${delta.title}`,
-          );
-        }
         const entries = [...canonical.requirements.entries()];
         canonical.requirements = new Map(
           entries.map(([title, block]) =>
@@ -526,11 +485,6 @@ function planCanonicalUpdates(specRoot, deltas) {
         continue;
       }
 
-      if (!canonical.requirements.has(delta.title)) {
-        throw new Error(
-          `${capability} does not contain requirement: ${delta.title}`,
-        );
-      }
       if (delta.operation === 'MODIFIED') {
         canonical.requirements.set(delta.title, renderRequirement(delta));
       } else if (delta.operation === 'REMOVED') {

package/plugin/skills/thoth-sdd/references/phases/specify.md

@@ -11,6 +11,16 @@ implementation-neutral.
   `None`).
 - Define prioritized, independently testable `US#` stories. Every story needs
   `Covers: FR-###, SC-###` and Given/When/Then acceptance scenarios.
+- Before choosing durable delta metadata, read
+  `openspec/specs/<capability>/spec.md` when it exists and compare the exact
+  `### Requirement:` titles and normative behavior:
+  - use `ADDED` only when no canonical requirement already expresses the
+    behavior;
+  - use `MODIFIED` or `REMOVED` only with the exact existing title;
+  - use `RENAMED <capability> FROM <exact previous title>` when the title changes;
+  - only `ADDED` is valid when the canonical capability does not exist.
+  A validator warning on `ADDED` into an existing nonempty capability requires
+  semantic-overlap review; exact-title validity alone does not prove new intent.
 - Give every sequential FR a descriptive title, a normative `MUST`/`SHALL`
   statement, and exactly one delta marker: `INTERNAL`, `ADDED`, `MODIFIED`,
   `REMOVED`, or `RENAMED ... FROM ...`.
@@ -20,4 +30,5 @@ implementation-neutral.
 - State assumptions, dependencies, edge cases, and explicit non-goals.
 
 Do not advance while a material ambiguity would change scope, behavior,
-architecture, or durable delta intent.
+architecture, or durable delta intent. Run the `specify` gate before planning;
+do not defer canonical delta reconciliation until archive.