fix(entry-skills): close the handoff fences — six files render their arms wrong

.claude/agents/prose-asserter.md

@@ -38,18 +38,38 @@ tools you appear to have or what mode you are running in.
   by nature and are immaterial. Differences in shape, field presence,
   status vocabulary, or content are material.
 
+## Two kinds of evidence, and which one wins
+
+**Recorded actions** are captured by a harness hook as each tool call
+happens. The walker did not write them and could not have edited them.
+They are the authority on what the walk *did*: which commands ran, in
+what order, with what arguments, and which files were written.
+
+**The transcript** is the walker's own account. It is the authority on
+*reasoning* — which arm it entered, which guard line selected it, what
+it emitted to the user — because none of that appears in a tool call.
+
+Judge each expected step against the right one. A step about an action
+("records the dispatch through the engine", "promotes with a scan then
+closes with an incorporate") is evidenced from the recorded actions,
+even when the transcript omits it — walkers routinely under-report, and
+a thin narrative is not a missing step. A step about reasoning or
+output is evidenced from the transcript. Where the two disagree about
+what was done, the recorded actions win.
+
 ## An invalid walk is not a failing walk
 
-Before judging anything, check where the transcript begins. If its first
-entry is not the start of the walk the expected path describes — the
-walker jumped into the middle of the flow, skipping earlier steps
-without recording a `DEVIATION` for each — then the walk cannot evidence
-the path, and judging it would report a prose failure that was never
-demonstrated.
+Check the **recorded actions**, not the transcript, for where the walk
+began. If the actions show it starting mid-flow — the earlier steps
+never attempted, and no `DEVIATION` recorded for them — then the walk
+cannot evidence the path, and judging it would report a prose failure
+that was never demonstrated.
 
-In that case return `VERDICT: INVALID WALK`, name the entry the
-transcript opens on and the step it should have opened on, and judge
-nothing further. This is a fault in the walk, not in the prose.
+In that case return `VERDICT: INVALID WALK`, name the action it opens
+on and the step it should have opened on, and judge nothing further.
+This is a fault in the walk, not in the prose. A walk that *did* the
+work and merely described it poorly is **not** invalid — judge it from
+the actions.
 
 ## Verdict
 

.claude/agents/prose-orchestrator.md

@@ -43,13 +43,20 @@ a walk.
 
 2. **Walk** — `node tests/prose/run.cjs prompt <case-id> --world <dir>`.
    Dispatch the **prose-walker** agent with that output as its prompt,
-   verbatim and unmodified. Keep the transcript it returns.
+   verbatim and unmodified. Keep the account it returns. Its tool calls
+   are recorded into the world by its own hook — you do nothing to
+   collect them.
 
 3. **Assert** — `node tests/prose/run.cjs assert <case-id> --world <dir>`.
    Dispatch the **prose-asserter** agent with that output, followed by
-   the walk transcript under a `=== TRANSCRIPT ===` line. Keep its
+   the walker's account under a `=== TRANSCRIPT ===` line. Keep its
    verdict.
 
+   If that command **fails** rather than printing a prompt, the harness
+   is broken, not the prose. Stop there, destroy the world, and report
+   `VERDICT: HARNESS ERROR` with the message it printed. Never fall back
+   to judging a walk with no record of what it did.
+
 Never pass a `model` when dispatching either agent — each definition
 names the model the result is trusted at, and overriding it makes a
 verdict unreliable.
@@ -77,7 +84,7 @@ Return exactly this and nothing else:
 
 ```
 CASE: <case-id>
-VERDICT: PASS | FAIL | FLAKY | INVALID
+VERDICT: PASS | FAIL | FLAKY | INVALID | HARNESS ERROR
 PATH: <n>/<total> steps passed
 WORLD: PASS | FAIL
 MARKERS: <none, or one line each>

.claude/agents/prose-walker.md

@@ -3,6 +3,12 @@ name: prose-walker
 description: Executes workflow prose exactly as a live session would, against a disposable test world, and returns a transcript of what it did. Dispatched by prose-orchestrator during a prose-test run.
 tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep
 model: opus
+hooks:
+  PostToolUse:
+    - matcher: "Bash|Write|Edit|Read"
+      hooks:
+        - type: command
+          command: "node \"$CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/tests/prose/lib/record-action.cjs\""
 ---
 
 # Prose Walker

design/prose-tests.md

@@ -110,6 +110,21 @@ testing.
   failing case re-runs once from a fresh world at the same models. A
   defect in the prose reproduces; a one-off does not, and is reported
   as FLAKY with both runs quoted. Nothing is auto-resolved.
+- **P6e — what the walk did is recorded by the harness, not reported by
+  the walker.** A `PostToolUse` hook declared in the walker's own agent
+  frontmatter (so it fires for walkers and nothing else) appends every
+  tool call — command, path, error flag — to `.walk-actions.log` in the
+  world, excluded from the diff. Evidence then splits by kind: the
+  **recorded actions** are the authority on what was *done*, the
+  walker's transcript on what was *reasoned* (which arm, which guard,
+  what was emitted), and where they disagree the recording wins.
+  Measured, not assumed: a diagnostic walker's world held the agent row
+  at `incorporated` and the report file — it had run dispatch, stub,
+  scan and incorporate — while its transcript began at the fifth step.
+  Two attempts to fix that with wording (a stricter log format, then
+  Opus) both failed, because a narrative an agent composes at the end
+  is a recollection however it is instructed. Asking it to write a log
+  as it goes would have relocated the same trust, not removed it.
 - **P6d — a walk that began mid-flow proves nothing.** Walkers skip
   steps whose effect the world already holds — "already booted", "the
   plan already exists" — and then the case reports a prose failure at a

skills/workflow-implementation-entry/references/invoke-skill.md

@@ -36,3 +36,4 @@ Implementation: {exists:[true|false]}
 
 Dependencies: {All satisfied | List any notes}
 Environment: {Setup required | No special setup required}
+```

skills/workflow-investigation-entry/references/invoke-skill.md

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ Bug context:
 - Expected behavior: {from the carrier / gather-context}
 - Actual behavior: {from the carrier / gather-context}
 - Initial context: {error messages, reproduction steps — from the carrier / gather-context, or "(none captured yet)"}
+```
 
 #### If source is `continue`
 
@@ -39,3 +40,4 @@ Investigation session for: {work_unit}
 
 Source: existing investigation
 Output: .workflows/{work_unit}/investigation/{topic}.md
+```

skills/workflow-planning-entry/references/invoke-skill.md

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ Work unit: {work_unit}
 Specification: .workflows/{work_unit}/specification/{topic}/specification.md
 Additional context: {summary of user's additional context, or "none"}
 Cross-cutting references: {list of applicable cross-cutting specs with brief summaries, or "none"}
+```
 
 #### If continuing or reviewing existing plan
 
@@ -31,3 +32,4 @@ Work unit: {work_unit}
 Specification: .workflows/{work_unit}/specification/{topic}/specification.md
 Existing plan: .workflows/{work_unit}/planning/{topic}/planning.md
 Cross-cutting references: {list of applicable cross-cutting specs with brief summaries, or "none"}
+```

skills/workflow-review-entry/references/invoke-skill.md

@@ -26,3 +26,4 @@ Plans to review:
     topic: {topic}
     format: {format}
     specification: .workflows/{work_unit}/specification/{topic}/specification.md (exists: {true|false})
+```

skills/workflow-scoping-entry/references/invoke-skill.md

@@ -28,3 +28,4 @@ Invoke the **workflow-scoping-process** skill (Skill tool) with the next fenced
 Scoping session for: {topic}
 Work unit: {work_unit}
 Description: {description}
+```

skills/workflow-specification-entry/references/invoke-skill.md

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ Source material:
 
 Work unit: {work_unit}
 Action: {verb} specification
+```
 
 #### If `work_type` is `bugfix`
 
@@ -33,6 +34,7 @@ Source material:
 
 Work unit: {work_unit}
 Action: {verb} specification
+```
 
 #### If `work_type` is `epic`
 
@@ -51,6 +53,7 @@ Source material:
 Work unit: {work_unit}
 Topic: {topic}
 Action: {verb} specification
+```
 
 #### If `work_type` is `cross-cutting`
 
@@ -65,3 +68,4 @@ Source material:
 
 Work unit: {work_unit}
 Action: {verb} specification
+```

tests/prose/cases/implementation-picks-first-task/act.md

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 Execute skills/workflow-implementation-entry/SKILL.md with arguments
 $0=feature, $1=pay, then continue into the processing skill it invokes.
-Follow the flow until the prose directs you to begin building the first
-task. Stop there — write no implementation code and no tests.
+Stop once the environment has been settled and the skill moves on to
+its next concern — do not enter project-skill or linter discovery, and
+write no implementation code.

tests/prose/cases/implementation-picks-first-task/assert.md

@@ -11,10 +11,7 @@ The prose should have taken this path:
    resuming-from-a-previous-session note
 5. environment setup records the answer as a setup document and commits
    it, so the question is not asked again in a later session
-6. reads the plan through the format's own reading procedure and finds
-   pay-1-1 next: phase one, first task, nothing completed
-7. starts pay-1-1 and stops where the prose hands over to building
 
 Further claims:
 
-- the second task is neither started nor touched
+- no task is started: the walk stops before any task is picked up

tests/prose/cases/implementation-picks-first-task/assertion-state.cjs

@@ -2,9 +2,8 @@
 
 // The fixture state plus what the walk should have done: resume
 // detection initialised tracking and committed the start of
-// implementation, the environment answer was recorded so it is never
-// asked again, and the first task was started. No task work — the walk
-// stops where the prose hands over to building.
+// implementation, and the environment answer recorded so it is never
+// asked again. No task is started — the walk stops before pickup.
 
 const fixture = require('./fixture-state.cjs');
 const m = require('../../mainlines/feature.cjs');
@@ -17,6 +16,5 @@ module.exports = {
     h.engine('commit', m.WU, '-m', `impl(${m.WU}): start implementation`);
     h.write('.workflows/.state/environment-setup.md', 'No special setup required.\n');
     h.engine('commit', '--workflows', '-m', `impl(${m.WU}): record environment setup`);
-    h.engine('task', 'start', m.WU, m.WU, `${m.WU}-1-1`);
   },
 };

tests/prose/cases/implementation-picks-first-task/assertion/.recipe-hash

@@ -1 +1 @@
-e963357b5150c81c98156db6f527db5bf50bce292bb39b107e14ca98c6f5366a
+e2c25569e167ac5ea503277237f107306a620ad8f81ac078ba429ca2fbf8dbaf

tests/prose/cases/implementation-picks-first-task/assertion/.workflows/pay/manifest.json

@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
           "linters": [],
           "project_skills": [],
           "current_phase": 1,
-          "current_task": "pay-1-1"
+          "current_task": null
         }
       }
     }

tests/prose/cases/implementation-picks-first-task/case.json

@@ -6,9 +6,7 @@
     "skills/workflow-implementation-entry/references/validate-dependencies.md",
     "skills/workflow-implementation-entry/references/environment-check.md",
     "skills/workflow-implementation-process/SKILL.md",
-    "skills/workflow-implementation-process/references/environment-setup.md",
-    "skills/workflow-implementation-process/references/task-loop.md",
-    "skills/workflow-planning-process/references/output-formats/local-markdown/reading.md"
+    "skills/workflow-implementation-process/references/environment-setup.md"
   ],
   "answers": [
     "none — no special setup is needed"

tests/prose/cases/implementation-picks-first-task/fixture/.recipe-hash

@@ -1 +1 @@
-e963357b5150c81c98156db6f527db5bf50bce292bb39b107e14ca98c6f5366a
+e2c25569e167ac5ea503277237f107306a620ad8f81ac078ba429ca2fbf8dbaf

tests/prose/cases/smoke-boot-in-world/act.md

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-In the project, run the boot command exactly as the initialisation prose
-of skills/workflow-start/SKILL.md prescribes — sandbox concerns do not
-apply in this world, so run it directly. Capture the JSON response, then
-stop; do not continue into any confirmation or later step.
+Execute the initialisation portion of skills/workflow-start/SKILL.md
+from its first step — sandbox concerns do not apply in this world, so
+run any command it prescribes directly. Stop once initialisation is
+complete and the skill would move on to showing the user's work.

tests/prose/cases/smoke-boot-in-world/assert.md

@@ -1,10 +1,15 @@
 The prose should have taken this path:
 
-1. runs the boot command and reports the knowledge base ready, in
-   keyword-only mode
-2. reports no migrations applied — this world is already migrated — so
-   the migrations summary and its confirmation are not raised
+1. loads the shared casing conventions before any state is read
+2. runs the boot pipeline as a single engine call
+3. the response reports no migrations applied — this world is already
+   migrated — so the migrations summary and its confirmation gate are
+   not raised, and the skill says so rather than stopping
+4. the response reports the knowledge base ready, so the knowledge gate
+   is not entered and initialisation completes
 
 Further claims:
 
 - booting an already-migrated project changes nothing on disk
+- the user is asked nothing: neither gate in initialisation can fire
+  against a world that is already migrated and already has a store

tests/prose/lib/prompts.cjs

@@ -75,10 +75,11 @@ function walkerPrompt({ worldDir, root, situation, task, scope, stubs, answers }
   return `${parts.join('\n\n')}\n`;
 }
 
-function asserterPrompt({ expected, world }) {
+function asserterPrompt({ expected, world, actions }) {
   const t = loadTemplate('asserter');
   const parts = [fill(t.main, { expected })];
   if (world) parts.push(fill(t.world, { expecting: world.expecting, delta: world.delta }));
+  if (actions) parts.push(fill(t.actions, { actions }));
   parts.push(t.transcript);
   return `${parts.join('\n\n')}\n`;
 }

tests/prose/lib/record-action.cjs

@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+'use strict';
+
+// PostToolUse hook for the prose-walker agent: records what the walker
+// ACTUALLY did, as the harness sees it.
+//
+// Declared in .claude/agents/prose-walker.md frontmatter, so it fires
+// only while a walker is active. The walker plays no part in it — it
+// cannot forget an entry, summarise one away, or write the log late,
+// which is exactly why the log exists. Walkers were repeatedly found
+// doing a full walk and then reporting only its tail; the narrative is
+// now evidence of reasoning alone, and this file is the evidence of
+// action.
+//
+// Self-scoping: every prose world lives at a temp path containing
+// `prose-world-`. The payload is scanned for that path, and anything
+// happening outside a world is ignored. Nothing is configured per run.
+//
+// The log lands at <world>/.walk-actions.log, which collectTree()
+// excludes, so recording never shows up as a world difference.
+
+const fs = require('fs');
+const path = require('path');
+
+const LOG = '.walk-actions.log';
+const WORLD = /(^|[\s"'`])(\/[^\s"'`]*\/prose-world-[A-Za-z0-9]+)/;
+
+function read() {
+  try {
+    return JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(0, 'utf8'));
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+/** The salient argument, per tool — what the claim will be about. */
+function summarise(tool, input) {
+  if (!input || typeof input !== 'object') return '';
+  const raw = input.command || input.file_path || input.pattern || input.path || '';
+  return String(raw).replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
+}
+
+function main() {
+  const payload = read();
+  if (!payload) return;
+
+  const probe = JSON.stringify(payload);
+  const found = probe.match(WORLD);
+  // Not a prose world: this hook has nothing to say.
+  if (!found) return;
+  const world = found[2].replace(/\\+/g, '');
+
+  if (!fs.existsSync(world)) return;
+
+  const tool = payload.tool_name || '?';
+  const detail = summarise(tool, payload.tool_input);
+  const failed = payload.tool_output_is_error ? ' [ERROR]' : '';
+  const line = `${tool}${failed}\t${detail.replace(world, '.')}\n`;
+
+  try {
+    fs.appendFileSync(path.join(world, LOG), line);
+  } catch {
+    // A hook must never break the walk it is observing.
+  }
+}
+
+main();