wicked-garden 12.57.0 → 12.58.0

package/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json

@@ -1 +1 @@
-{"name": "wicked-garden", "owner": {"name": "Mike Parcewski"}, "plugins": [{"name": "wicked-garden", "source": "./", "description": "Your coding agent already plans and swarms \u2014 Wicked Garden is the curated toolkit for what it can't: proof-not-claims gates, code links grep can't see, deterministic refactor, cross-session memory, multi-model second opinions (fallback seats labelled). Don't fight the harness; fill its gaps. The gate needs wicked-vault (a self-contained infra peer, installed directly) and re-derives through garden's built-in engine; estate/bus are opt-in layers (wicked-testing and wicked-brain are retired \u2014 QE ships in-catalog as the qe domain, memory lives in wicked-estate).", "version": "12.57.0"}], "version": "12.57.0"}
+{"name": "wicked-garden", "owner": {"name": "Mike Parcewski"}, "plugins": [{"name": "wicked-garden", "source": "./", "description": "Your coding agent already plans and swarms \u2014 Wicked Garden is the curated toolkit for what it can't: proof-not-claims gates, code links grep can't see, deterministic refactor, cross-session memory, multi-model second opinions (fallback seats labelled). Don't fight the harness; fill its gaps. The gate needs wicked-vault (a self-contained infra peer, installed directly) and re-derives through garden's built-in engine; estate/bus are opt-in layers (wicked-testing and wicked-brain are retired \u2014 QE ships in-catalog as the qe domain, memory lives in wicked-estate).", "version": "12.58.0"}], "version": "12.58.0"}

package/.claude-plugin/plugin.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "wicked-garden",
-  "version": "12.57.0",
+  "version": "12.58.0",
   "description": "Your coding agent's harness already plans and swarms; Wicked Garden is the curated toolkit for what it can't do alone. Proof, not claims \u2014 gates re-derive 'done' through the internal loom engine (fail-closed, independently attested via wicked-vault), so a self-asserted pass can't lie its way green. Relationships grep can't see \u2014 the wicked-estate code graph + injected bus/dispatch/capability/archetype edges power blast-radius & lineage. Plus deterministic multi-file refactor (wicked-patch), cross-session memory + knowledge (the mem domain over wicked-estate), multi-model second opinions (fallback seats labelled) (jam:council), portable expertise as on-demand skill-refs, and evidence-gated testing (the in-catalog qe domain). It reads the shape of your work to apply the right rigor \u2014 steering, not a pipeline \u2014 then gets out of the way. The compiler stamps a self-contained evidence gate into any repo that runs with no wicked-garden installed. Don't fight the harness; fill its gaps. The evidence gate requires wicked-vault, a self-contained infra peer wicked-garden installs directly; wicked-bus is an opt-in layer \u2014 install what you'll use, the toolkit works without the rest.",
   "wicked_vault_version": ">=0.8.0",
   "wicked_ledger_version": "^0.6.0",

package/.codex-plugin/mcp.json

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+{
+  "mcpServers": {
+    "wicked-estate": {
+      "command": "wicked-garden",
+      "args": [
+        "run",
+        "scripts/estate_mcp.mjs"
+      ],
+      "env_vars": [
+        "WICKED_ESTATE_MCP_BIN",
+        "WICKED_ESTATE_DB",
+        "WICKED_HOME",
+        "WICKED_MEMORY_DB",
+        "WICKED_KNOWLEDGE_DB",
+        "WICKED_XEDGE_DB",
+        "WICKED_ESTATE_READONLY",
+        "WICKED_GOVERNED",
+        "WICKED_RUN_ID",
+        "WICKED_RUN_UNIT",
+        "WICKED_RUN_AGENT",
+        "WICKED_RUN_PROJECT",
+        "WICKED_GATE_SCOPE",
+        "WICKED_WRITE_ROOTS"
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+}

package/.codex-plugin/plugin.json

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+{
+  "name": "wicked-garden",
+  "version": "12.58.0",
+  "description": "The skills your coding agent can't build alone: \"done\" re-checked from evidence, graph-aware search and multi-file refactor, 40 QE specialists, review panels from other models, and cross-session memory. Works in Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, OpenCode and Pi, in CI, or in a wicked-crew job.",
+  "keywords": [
+    "coding-agent",
+    "evidence-gate",
+    "code-graph",
+    "refactoring",
+    "testing",
+    "memory",
+    "multi-model"
+  ],
+  "skills": "./skills",
+  "mcpServers": "./.codex-plugin/mcp.json",
+  "hooks": {
+    "description": "No hooks on Codex: hooks/hooks.json is Claude Code's event model; garden's skills run the gate themselves on skills-only hosts.",
+    "hooks": {}
+  },
+  "interface": {
+    "displayName": "Wicked Garden",
+    "shortDescription": "Evidence-gated done, graph-aware search and refactor, QE specialists, review panels, cross-session memory.",
+    "developerName": "Mike Parcewski",
+    "category": "Developer Tools",
+    "websiteURL": "https://github.com/mikeparcewski/wicked-garden"
+  }
+}

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,15 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [12.58.0] — 2026-10-20
+
+### Added
+- **garden is a registered Codex plugin (#1326).** `.codex-plugin/plugin.json` (Codex prefers it over `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`) declares the skills directory (`./skills`; Codex namespaces them `wicked-garden:<skill>`), the `wicked-estate` MCP server (`.codex-plugin/mcp.json`) and an explicit empty `hooks` block, because without one Codex would load `hooks/hooks.json`, which is Claude Code's hook model. Codex installs it from the existing `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json`: `codex plugin marketplace add <garden package root>`, then `codex plugin add wicked-garden@wicked-garden`. The MCP server starts through `wicked-garden run scripts/estate_mcp.mjs`. That new launcher finds `wicked-estate-mcp` the way `scripts/_estate_client.py` does (`WICKED_ESTATE_MCP_BIN`, then PATH, then `~/.local/bin`), so no install path is written into the manifest. The server forwards the binary override, estate's store pins (`WICKED_ESTATE_DB`, `WICKED_HOME`, `WICKED_*_DB`), the read-only opt-in and the run markers through `env_vars`, because Codex hands a stdio MCP server only a default allowlist (PATH, HOME, …) plus the variables named there. The launcher also applies `_estate_client.py`'s rules. It accepts only `--readonly`, `--governed` and `--db <path>`/`--db=<path>`, and refuses a misspelt flag. `--readonly` is added for the flag, for `WICKED_ESTATE_READONLY`, `WICKED_GOVERNED` or `--governed`, and for a run marker. A governed unit with no pinned store is refused. The child gets `[--readonly] [--db <path>]`, the only spelling estate reads. It passes stdio, arguments, cwd and the exit code through, and when no binary is found it prints one JSON line and exits 1. A `wicked-estate` server in the user's Codex config takes precedence over the plugin's.
+- **The Codex manifest is kept in version lockstep and checked in CI (#1326).** `sync-plugin-version.mjs` (the npm `version` hook the release runs) now bumps `.codex-plugin/plugin.json` too, and so does the dev `release.py` (with `package.json`). `scripts/ci/validate.py` runs `scripts/ci/codex_plugin.py`, which applies the rules Codex 0.163 uses: name matches the Claude manifest, and the Codex and Claude versions both match `package.json`; paths start with `./` and stay under the root; the hooks opt-out is present; the estate server goes through a launcher script under the root. It also requires that the skills Codex would discover (recursive, hidden directories skipped, string names of at most 64 characters, a string description present) are exactly the catalog's. `tests/test_codex_plugin_manifest.py` checks that the npm package ships those same skills plus the manifest files.
+
+### Fixed
+- **Governed-worker evaluators defer delivery-only criteria instead of failing them (rule E6, #1328).** A criterion whose evidence exists only after the deliver phase pushes (CI on the opened pull request, the pull request's title or body, a merge, a release) is now DEFERRED, neither PASS nor FAIL. Every part the run can show is still judged, and a failing in-run part still FAILs the item (deny-dominates). The evaluator names each deferred item (`ITEM <n>: DEFERRED — <the artifact it waits for>`, or a "Deferred to delivery" list) so the deliver gate can show it to the operator; a deferred item never fails the verdict by itself. E6 is distinct from E3: an in-run item the creator left as a follow-up is still judged. Pinned by `tests/test_governed_worker_rules.py`.
+
 ## [12.57.0] — 2026-10-18
 
 ### Added
@@ -1170,7 +1179,8 @@ through `v9.2.18`. Major themes across that span:
 
 For each of those releases, see the corresponding tag in git history.
 
-[Unreleased]: https://github.com/mikeparcewski/wicked-garden/compare/v12.57.0...HEAD
+[Unreleased]: https://github.com/mikeparcewski/wicked-garden/compare/v12.58.0...HEAD
+[12.58.0]: https://github.com/mikeparcewski/wicked-garden/compare/v12.57.0...v12.58.0
 [12.57.0]: https://github.com/mikeparcewski/wicked-garden/compare/v12.56.0...v12.57.0
 [12.56.0]: https://github.com/mikeparcewski/wicked-garden/compare/v12.55.1...v12.56.0
 [12.55.1]: https://github.com/mikeparcewski/wicked-garden/compare/v12.55.0...v12.55.1

package/README.md

@@ -69,7 +69,17 @@ installs/updates the whole wicked-\* family (garden, its peers, and the rest).
 > and the previous copy is put back). Those transient dirs are **not plugins**; a leftover after an interrupted install is
 > safe to delete (`status` lists them).
 
-**Other CLIs (Codex, OpenCode, Pi, Antigravity)** — `npx wicked-installer install-<cli> wicked-garden` copies
+**Codex (codex-cli with `codex plugin`, 0.163+)** — garden is a registered Codex plugin: `.codex-plugin/plugin.json`
+declares the skills (`./skills`, namespaced `wicked-garden:<skill>`), the `wicked-estate` MCP server (started through
+`wicked-garden run scripts/estate_mcp.mjs`, which finds `wicked-estate-mcp` the way garden's scripts do:
+`WICKED_ESTATE_MCP_BIN` → PATH → `~/.local/bin`; that override, estate's store pins and the read-only/run markers are forwarded through `env_vars`, since Codex passes an MCP server only those plus PATH/HOME and the like, and `WICKED_ESTATE_READONLY` or a run marker adds `--readonly` as garden's estate client does), and no hooks (`hooks/hooks.json` is Claude Code's). By hand:
+`npm i -g wicked-garden`, then `codex plugin marketplace add "$(npm root -g)/wicked-garden"` and
+`codex plugin add wicked-garden@wicked-garden`. wicked-installer's Codex script does the same (pick Codex in
+`npx wicked-installer`, or run `node "$(npm root -g)/wicked-installer/dist/install-codex.js" wicked-garden`) and
+removes the loose skill copies it made earlier. A `[mcp_servers.wicked-estate]` entry in your Codex config takes
+precedence over the plugin's server.
+
+**Other CLIs (OpenCode, Pi, Antigravity, and Codex without `codex plugin`)** — `npx wicked-installer install-<cli> wicked-garden` copies
 the skills only (flat, by name — no `scripts/`, no venv). Every skill's text works there as written: own files are
 referenced relative to the skill's directory, other skills by name, and the shared runtime only through the
 launcher — `wicked-garden run scripts/<x>.py …`. So for script-backed skills the runtime prerequisite on those
@@ -130,7 +140,7 @@ false "done" runs into depends on the host and the entry path:
 |---|---|---|
 | **Any host — the gate, invoked** (`wicked-garden-prove`, an archetype's produces-gate → `scripts/qe/vault_gate.py`) | Re-hashes the recorded evidence and re-runs its verifier through `wicked-vault`: a false claim is **rejected**, an unresolvable backend **fails closed** (`gate: "unavailable"`). Hard gates also need an attestation under an explicit `--actor` that differs from the author's — a local label, not an authenticated identity. The verdict stops whatever acts on it. | With `--no-require`, a backend that cannot run falls back to the claim-only tracker and says so (`claim-only`, not re-derived); a working backend still re-derives. |
 | **Claude Code — plugin hooks** (plain conversation, "just work") | `PreToolUse` denies a few specific tool calls: native `EnterPlanMode` (always — planning goes through the archetype playbooks), writes to `MEMORY.md` / the auto-memory dir, build-phase writes on a high-complexity crew project with no challenge artifacts, a `phase_manager.py approve` whose gate preflight fails, a worktree cwd leak, and — only in `strict` mode (default `warn`) — invalid task metadata (`WG_TASK_METADATA`) and orphan state writes (`WG_BUS_EMIT_LINT`). Prompts are held until `/wicked-garden-core setup` completes. | Everything else. The archetype detector **steers** (it does not gate), the Stop-time claim sentinel is a fail-open **nudge** when a "done/passing" claim has no verdict for HEAD, `TaskCompleted` never blocks, and output governance is advisory. A completion claim is **not** blocked unless a gate is run. |
-| **Codex · OpenCode · Pi · Antigravity — skills only** (`npx wicked-installer install-<cli> wicked-garden`) | Nothing by itself: no plugin hooks are installed on those hosts. | The skill text tells the agent to run the gate; it blocks only when the agent does run it (and the launcher + `wicked-vault` are present). |
+| **Codex (plugin) · OpenCode · Pi · Antigravity — skills only** (`npx wicked-installer install-<cli> wicked-garden`) | Nothing by itself: no hooks are installed on those hosts (the Codex plugin opts out of them). | The skill text tells the agent to run the gate; it blocks only when the agent does run it (and the launcher + `wicked-vault` are present). |
 | **Compiled repo gate** (`/wicked-garden-prove compile <repo> --trigger hook,ci`) | `.wicked/gate.py` fails the **git pre-push hook / CI job** it is wired into, with no wicked-garden installed. | Without a trigger it is a script you run by hand. |
 | **wicked-crew governed run** | crew's engine decides each gated phase deny-dominates, on the layers that actually ran — deterministic floors, repo checks, policies, a judge. Review moves to a distinct seat when the roster has an eligible one; team runs refuse without one. | An ordinary run on a too-small roster keeps review on the creator seat and labels it "evaluator ≠ creator not held"; a pinned floor with no distinct judge is labelled "floor only"; a phase nothing gated is "approved by default, not verified". |
 

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "wicked-garden",
-  "version": "12.57.0",
+  "version": "12.58.0",
   "type": "module",
   "description": "The skills your coding agent can't build alone: \"done\" re-checked from evidence, graph-aware search and multi-file refactor, 40 QE specialists, review panels from other models, and cross-session memory. Works in Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, OpenCode and Pi, in CI, or in a wicked-crew job.",
   "keywords": [
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
   "main": "install.mjs",
   "scripts": {
     "test": "node scripts/ci/run_pytest.js",
-    "version": "node .github/scripts/sync-plugin-version.mjs && git add .claude-plugin/plugin.json .claude-plugin/marketplace.json",
+    "version": "node .github/scripts/sync-plugin-version.mjs && git add .claude-plugin/plugin.json .claude-plugin/marketplace.json .codex-plugin/plugin.json",
     "prepublishOnly": "node install.mjs --version"
   },
   "engines": {

package/scripts/estate_mcp.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * estate_mcp.mjs — start the wicked-estate MCP server over stdio for a host that loads garden as
+ * a plugin (Codex: `.codex-plugin/mcp.json` runs `wicked-garden run scripts/estate_mcp.mjs`).
+ *
+ * The binary is found the way garden's own estate client finds it
+ * (`scripts/_estate_client.py` `resolve_mcp_bin`), so the plugin and the skills talk to the same
+ * binary and no install path is written into the manifest:
+ *
+ *   1. WICKED_ESTATE_MCP_BIN, when it names an existing file;
+ *   2. `wicked-estate-mcp` on PATH — an executable file, as `shutil.which` requires (PATHEXT on
+ *      Windows);
+ *   3. ~/.local/bin/wicked-estate-mcp (or `.exe`).
+ *
+ * stdin/stdout/stderr are inherited (the MCP stream passes straight through), the caller's cwd is
+ * kept (the binary resolves its store from it), and arguments after the script name are passed
+ * on. The read-only and governed-unit rules of `_estate_client.py` apply here too: `--readonly`
+ * is added when WICKED_ESTATE_READONLY / WICKED_GOVERNED is truthy or a run marker
+ * (WICKED_RUN_ID, WICKED_GATE_SCOPE, WICKED_WRITE_ROOTS) is set — estate only honours the
+ * literal flag — and a governed unit with no pinned store (--db, WICKED_ESTATE_DB, WICKED_HOME,
+ * WICKED_MEMORY_DB) is refused rather than pointed at the operator's default stores. The exit code is the server's; SIGINT/SIGTERM/SIGHUP are forwarded. When no binary is found
+ * it writes one JSON line on stderr — {"ok": false, "reason": …, "tried": […]} — and exits 1, so
+ * the host reports a failed MCP server rather than a hung one.
+ *
+ * Pure helpers are exported for tests (tests/test_codex_plugin_manifest.py).
+ */
+import { accessSync, constants as fsConstants, realpathSync, statSync } from "node:fs";
+import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
+import { homedir } from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+export const MCP_BIN_NAME = "wicked-estate-mcp";
+export const OVERRIDE_ENV = "WICKED_ESTATE_MCP_BIN";
+
+function isFile(p) {
+  try {
+    return statSync(p).isFile();
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/** shutil.which's test: a regular file the user may execute (Windows has no execute bit). */
+function isExecutableFile(p, platform = process.platform) {
+  if (!isFile(p)) return false;
+  if (platform === "win32") return true;
+  try {
+    accessSync(p, fsConstants.X_OK);
+    return true;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Resolve the estate MCP binary. Returns { bin, tried } — `bin` is null when nothing qualifies.
+ * `env`, `platform`, `home` and `fileExists` are seams for tests.
+ */
+export function resolveEstateMcpBin({
+  env = process.env,
+  platform = process.platform,
+  home = homedir(),
+  fileExists = isFile,
+  isExecutable = (p) => isExecutableFile(p, platform),
+} = {}) {
+  const p = platform === "win32" ? path.win32 : path.posix;
+  const tried = [];
+  const override = env[OVERRIDE_ENV];
+  if (override) {
+    tried.push(`${OVERRIDE_ENV}=${override}`);
+    if (fileExists(override)) return { bin: override, tried };
+  }
+  const exts = platform === "win32"
+    ? ["", ...(env.PATHEXT || ".COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD").split(";").filter(Boolean).map((e) => e.toLowerCase())]
+    : [""];
+  const pathVar = env.PATH ?? env.Path ?? "";
+  for (const dir of pathVar.split(platform === "win32" ? ";" : ":")) {
+    if (!dir) continue;
+    for (const ext of exts) {
+      const candidate = p.join(dir, MCP_BIN_NAME + ext);
+      // PATH entries must be executable (as shutil.which requires); the override and
+      // ~/.local/bin only need to be files, exactly as _estate_client.py checks them.
+      if (isExecutable(candidate)) return { bin: candidate, tried: [...tried, "PATH"] };
+    }
+  }
+  tried.push("PATH");
+  const local = p.join(home, ".local", "bin");
+  for (const name of [MCP_BIN_NAME, `${MCP_BIN_NAME}.exe`]) {
+    const candidate = p.join(local, name);
+    tried.push(candidate);
+    if (fileExists(candidate)) return { bin: candidate, tried };
+  }
+  return { bin: null, tried };
+}
+
+const GOVERNED_MARKERS = ["WICKED_RUN_ID", "WICKED_GATE_SCOPE", "WICKED_WRITE_ROOTS"];
+const STORE_PIN_ENV = ["WICKED_ESTATE_DB", "WICKED_HOME", "WICKED_MEMORY_DB"];
+const truthy = (v) => !["", "0", "false", "no"].includes(String(v ?? "").trim().toLowerCase());
+
+/**
+ * The argv to hand estate, or the reason to refuse — `_estate_client.parse_cli_flags()`,
+ * `read_only()`, `governed_refusal()` and `mcp_argv()` applied to the launcher's own argv and
+ * environment. Accepted flags: `--readonly`, `--governed`, `--db <path>` / `--db=<path>`
+ * (anywhere); any other `--flag` is refused (a misspelt `--read-only` must never reach a
+ * write-capable server). The child argv is `[--readonly] [--db <path>] …positionals`, the only
+ * `--db` spelling estate reads.
+ */
+export function estateArgv(argv, env = process.env) {
+  let readonlyFlag = false;
+  let governedFlag = false;
+  let db = null;
+  const rest = [];
+  for (let i = 0; i < argv.length; i += 1) {
+    const tok = argv[i];
+    if (tok === "--readonly") readonlyFlag = true;
+    else if (tok === "--governed") governedFlag = true;
+    else if (tok === "--db") {
+      const value = argv[i + 1];
+      if (!value || value.startsWith("-")) return { usage: "--db requires a store path" };
+      db = value;
+      i += 1;
+    } else if (tok.startsWith("--db=")) {
+      const value = tok.slice("--db=".length);
+      if (!value) return { usage: "--db= requires a store path" };
+      db = value;
+    } else if (tok.startsWith("--") && tok.length > 2) {
+      return { usage: `unknown flag ${JSON.stringify(tok)}: the estate launcher accepts --readonly, --governed and --db <path> only (spell --readonly exactly)` };
+    } else rest.push(tok);
+  }
+  const marker = governedFlag ? "--governed"
+    : truthy(env.WICKED_GOVERNED) ? "WICKED_GOVERNED"
+    : GOVERNED_MARKERS.find((k) => String(env[k] ?? "").trim());
+  const pinned = !!db || STORE_PIN_ENV.some((k) => String(env[k] ?? "").trim());
+  if (marker && !pinned) {
+    return { refusal: `governed unit (${marker} is set) but no estate store is pinned: set ${STORE_PIN_ENV.join(" / ")} or pass --db; refusing to start wicked-estate-mcp against the operator's default stores` };
+  }
+  const readOnly = readonlyFlag || !!marker || truthy(env.WICKED_ESTATE_READONLY);
+  return { argv: [...(readOnly ? ["--readonly"] : []), ...(db ? ["--db", db] : []), ...rest] };
+}
+
+function main(argv) {
+  const plan = estateArgv(argv);
+  if (plan.usage || plan.refusal) {
+    process.stderr.write(JSON.stringify({ ok: false, reason: plan.usage ?? plan.refusal, tried: [] }) + "\n");
+    return process.exit(plan.usage ? 2 : 1);
+  }
+  argv = plan.argv;
+  const { bin, tried } = resolveEstateMcpBin();
+  if (!bin) {
+    process.stderr.write(JSON.stringify({
+      ok: false,
+      reason: `${MCP_BIN_NAME} not found — install wicked-estate (npx wicked-installer install wicked-estate) or set ${OVERRIDE_ENV}`,
+      tried,
+    }) + "\n");
+    return process.exit(1);
+  }
+  const child = spawn(bin, argv, { stdio: "inherit", shell: false });
+  for (const sig of ["SIGINT", "SIGTERM", "SIGHUP"]) {
+    process.on(sig, () => {
+      try {
+        child.kill(sig);
+      } catch {
+        /* already gone */
+      }
+    });
+  }
+  child.on("error", (err) => {
+    process.stderr.write(JSON.stringify({ ok: false, reason: `could not start ${bin}: ${err.message}`, tried }) + "\n");
+    process.exit(1);
+  });
+  child.on("exit", (code, signal) => {
+    process.exit(code ?? (signal ? 128 + (signalNumber(signal) || 1) : 1));
+  });
+}
+
+function signalNumber(name) {
+  return { SIGHUP: 1, SIGINT: 2, SIGKILL: 9, SIGTERM: 15 }[name];
+}
+
+function invokedDirectly() {
+  try {
+    return Boolean(process.argv[1]) && realpathSync(process.argv[1]) === realpathSync(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+if (invokedDirectly()) main(process.argv.slice(2));

package/skills/governed-worker/SKILL.md

@@ -139,6 +139,19 @@ verdict with reasons. You are output-only.
   creator's reason. An unjustified duplicate is at least a Concern. So is new code
   whose output records no built-in check (C8). Code that swaps out the framework the
   user or a policy chose is a Critical.
+- **E6 — Judge what the run can show; defer what only delivery can.** A
+  criterion whose evidence exists only after the deliver phase pushes — CI
+  results on the opened pull request, the pull request's title or body, a merge,
+  a release — is DEFERRED: neither PASS nor FAIL. Judge every part you can check
+  before delivery (the tree, your own runs in it, the floor record: tests,
+  format, lint, CHANGELOG). An item that mixes the two FAILs when its in-run part
+  fails; a deferral never lifts a failing in-run part. Otherwise name what waits:
+  `ITEM <n>: DEFERRED — <the artifact it waits for>` when your brief asks for item
+  lines, else a "Deferred to delivery" list above the verdict line. A deferred
+  item never fails the unit by itself, and a promise that CI will pass is never a
+  PASS. The deliver gate shows each deferred check to the operator. This is not
+  a creator's deferral (E3): an in-run item the creator left as a follow-up is
+  still judged.
 
 Method: read the outcome and design, then the changed files; for each, ask
 whether it follows the design, whether tests cover the key paths, and whether
@@ -146,7 +159,8 @@ the evidence (commands + exit codes) supports the claims; re-run what you can
 without mutating; sort findings into Critical (must fix), Concern, Suggestion;
 verdict: make the LAST line of your output exactly `VERDICT: PASS` or
 `VERDICT: FAIL` — one plain-text line (no `**`, backticks or `#` around it),
-findings above it. FAIL needs at least one Critical or a CONDITIONS list;
+findings above it. FAIL needs at least one Critical or a CONDITIONS list; a
+DEFERRED item (E6) is neither, so it never makes the verdict FAIL;
 there is no conditional pass (CONDITIONAL, APPROVE, REJECT and SKIP are not
 verdicts); never quote another VERDICT line in your message; no verdict line
 = FAIL (human gate). If you are the seat that created the work, say so and
@@ -207,6 +221,7 @@ Rules cite the acceptance-program findings that motivated them.
 | E3 | garden#1223 (companion to wicked-core#760) |
 | E4 | garden#1253 (S19a: `before:1` vs the form's `before:2`, passed on presence) |
 | E5 | operator ruling 2026-10-12 (wicked-core POL-2101) |
+| E6 | operator-approved fix, 2026-10-19 (runs 290a7fee and a74f51ac: reviews FAILed "CI green on every OS" and "PR body says Closes #N", which cannot exist before the deliver phase) |
 | N1 | F-RC2-038 |
 
 History: the `crew-implementer`, `crew-reviewer` and `crew-researcher` fork-agent definitions