docs(spec): name the node slot in the structural-condition ruling and its ADR-0087 entry (#17761)

Part of #17493

Items ① and ② of the card. ⛔ Item ③ is a **ruling, not a refactor** — it
is measured and reported here, and deliberately **not implemented**; the
card stays open on it, and this PR therefore carries no closing keyword.

Nothing in this diff changes behaviour. The refusal already shipped
(#17322 at `registerFlow`, #17495 at `objectstack validate`); what
shipped with it was the notification, and this is that half.

- **Clause-②: no** — this PR puts no new key on any published payload.

---

## ① The on-site ruling that had become false

`packages/spec/src/automation/flow-node-expression-paths.ts` — the
docblock of `structuralConditionRefusal`.

It admitted a whitespace-only string on this ground, verbatim as it
stood:

> every **string**, including a whitespace-only one. What a non-empty
string *says* stays `validateExpression('predicate', …)`'s verdict, and
**a whitespace-only condition meaning `false` is consistent on both
sides and is ruled correct, not a defect.**

#15807 removed that ground (`FlowEdgeSchema.condition` composes
`EvaluatedExpressionInputSchema`), #17322 ruled on the disagreement that
left, and #17495 finished it at the third door. ⛔ Not deleted — it
records a real decision, so the edit says **what changed it**:

- The admission itself is **unchanged and still correct**. This function
answers the SHAPE question; a string is a well-shaped structural
condition. The blank is refused **beside** it, by the imported
evaluated-slot rule, answering `EVALUATED_EXPRESSION_SOURCE_REQUIRED`
and not `STRUCTURAL_CONDITION_SHAPE_REFUSAL`.
- A new section records **why item ③'s question is open**, without
answering it.
- The same stale ground sat three lines from the symbol, in
`flow-node-expression-paths.test.ts`'s own case comment ("not authored
on both sides and stays so"). Same defect class, same file face,
mechanical: the comment is corrected, both assertions untouched. ⭐
Declared as a bounded on-site fix beyond the dispatched file face.

## ② The ADR-0087 entry named only the edge slot


`packages/spec/src/migrations/entries/semantic/18.flow-edge-condition-evaluated-slot-source-required.ts`
— `surface` and `acceptanceCriteria`.

Both named only `edges[].condition`, so a consumer replaying the chain
was told to sweep the edge key alone and a deployment carrying a blank
`config.condition` on a node was **never told to look**. Both now name
both structural slots, plus the node key's own locator phrase (the one
the structural pass builds, e.g. `node 'gate' (start) condition`) beside
the edge's `flows.N.edges.N.condition`, and the sweep carries the
warning that deleting a `condition` from a `start` node **opens the
trigger gate** rather than preserving it.

- `id`, `replacement` and `reason` are untouched, per the card.
- No backticks in `surface` — measured, 0 (`build-upgrade-guide.ts`
renders it inside a code span).
- **No new entry.** This is one decision reaching its second slot, which
is what both follow-up changesets
(`blank-node-condition-refused-at-registration.md`,
`validate-refuses-blank-structural-condition.md`) already declared by
taking the `not-required (already-registered …)` disposition against
this very entry.
- `packages/spec/src/migrations/registry.ts` is **regenerated by the
repo's own generator**, `pnpm --filter @objectstack/spec
gen:migration-registry` — ⛔ never hand-edited.
`check:migration-registry` is green.

## ⛔ ③ Measured, reported, NOT implemented

`registerFlow` still **ACCEPTS** a whitespace-only string at both
sibling ledger `predicate` slots, on this head, against controls that
prove the probe reaches them:

| slot | valid CEL (positive control) | envelope with a blank source
(refusal control) | `' '` | `''` |
|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|
| `config.conditions[].expression` | ACCEPTED | REFUSED —
`PREDICATE_SLOT_STRING_REFUSAL` at `config.conditions[0].expression` |
**ACCEPTED** | **ACCEPTED** |
| `screen.fields[].visibleWhen` | ACCEPTED | REFUSED —
`PREDICATE_SLOT_STRING_REFUSAL` at `config.fields[0].visibleWhen` |
**ACCEPTED** | **ACCEPTED** |
| `config.condition` (lit control — the slot #17322 DID narrow) |
ACCEPTED | REFUSED | **REFUSED** | **REFUSED** |

`evaluateCondition(' ')` and `evaluateCondition('')` both answer `false`
— the same silent dead branch. The current behaviour is pinned as
correct by #15572 at
`packages/services/service-automation/src/decision-predicate-envelope.test.ts`
(the `it` block at `:110`–`:114` on this head; the card cited
`:113`–`:117` from `aefbb07b2`, a 3-line drift, the pin itself intact).

⛔ Narrowing those slots re-judges that pin and moves a published
accept-set: **a ruling, not a refactor**. `packages/services/**` is
untouched by this diff — 0 files.

## 验收备注

- `packages/lint`'s `predicateSlotRefusal`-side prose and
`flow-node-expression-paths.test.ts:189` also rest on "consistent on
both sides" — but for the **ledger predicate slots** that statement is
still **true** (resolver skips the blank, evaluator answers `false`, and
neither has been rebound). Noted, not filed: nothing to correct until
item ③ is ruled on.
- `packages/spec/src/migrations/registry.ts` is a hot shared file: PR
#17638 and PR #17635 both regenerate it from different entry files. No
conflict at this head; `origin/main` merged at `5a77c75b29` and the
registry regenerated and re-verified after.

## Verification

Every run below is on the final head `5a77c75b29` (`origin/main` merged
at that commit), with the gate's own verdict line, never a bare exit
status read through a pipe.

- `pnpm --filter @objectstack/spec build && check:generated && typecheck
&& test` — VERDICT `command-exit 0`; **473 test files / 13436 tests
passed**.
- The one test-layer file this diff touches, re-run alone: `pnpm
--filter @objectstack/spec exec vitest run --maxWorkers=2
src/automation/flow-node-expression-paths.test.ts` — 1 file / **26 tests
passed**.
- `node scripts/pm/dispatch-gates.mjs --commands` derived **84** gate
families for this change set; **84 run, 82 green, 0 unrun** — reconciled
with `--ran`, exit codes captured before any pipe. The two non-green
exited **3 = PREREQUISITE NOT MET, i.e. NOT MEASURED and not a
finding**: `check:dual-build-cjs-loads` and `check:type-check-debt` both
refuse without a repo-wide build closure, and both are declared to CI,
which builds one.
- Item ②'s own gate, `check:adr-0087-registration` — exit 0, verdict:
"this PR adds no declared-breaking changeset (1 non-breaking
changeset(s) seen)". `check:migration-registry` exit 0, verdict:
"src/migrations/registry.ts is current (202 semantic, 167 retired-key,
178 retired-def)". `check:spec-changes` and `check:upgrade-guide` both
report their artifact up to date; `check:docs` reports 222 generated
files in sync.
- `eslint . --no-inline-config --format json` over the **whole repo**,
eslint's own population read from its JSON output: **6638 files, 0
errors, 0 warnings**. No narrowing claimed and none needed.
- `check:nul-bytes` exit 0 (8441 text files), plus a control-character
self-scan over every changed file: 0 hits.

Changeset: `.changeset/17493-node-door-refusal-residues.md`,
`@objectstack/spec: patch`, card-scoped filename in the tree's
prevailing spelling.

---
_Generated by [Claude
Code](https://claude.ai/code/session_01MkQhmuuJAVDjmeWNixwDDH)_

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: os-bill

.changeset/17493-node-door-refusal-residues.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+---
+"@objectstack/spec": patch
+---
+
+docs(spec): the structural-condition ruling and the ADR-0087 entry both name the NODE slot (#17493)
+
+Two places in `packages/spec` still described the world as it was before the
+blank structural condition became a defect. Neither changes behaviour: this is
+the notification half of a refusal that has already shipped.
+
+**The ADR-0087 D3 entry `flow-edge-condition-evaluated-slot-source-required`
+named only the edge key.** Its `surface` and `acceptanceCriteria` told a
+consumer replaying the chain to sweep `edges[].condition` and nothing else —
+so a deployment carrying a blank `config.condition` on a flow node was never
+told to look, even though `AutomationEngine.registerFlow` refuses it since
+#17322 and `objectstack validate` since #17495. Both fields now name both
+structural slots, the node key's own locator
+(the phrase the structural pass builds, e.g. `node 'gate' (start) condition`) is
+stated beside the edge's `flows.N.edges.N.condition`, and the sweep carries the
+warning that removing a `condition` from a `start` node opens the trigger gate
+rather than preserving it. The entry's `id`, `replacement` and `reason` are
+untouched, and no new entry is added: this is one decision reaching its second
+slot, not a second decision.
+
+**`structuralConditionRefusal`'s docblock stated a ruling that had become
+false.** It admitted a whitespace-only string on the ground that such a
+condition "is consistent on both sides and is ruled correct, not a defect" —
+the ground #15807 removed at the edge door and #17322 ruled on. The admission
+itself is unchanged and still correct, because this function answers the SHAPE
+question only and the blank is refused beside it by the imported
+evaluated-slot rule; what the docblock now records is which card removed the
+ground, which door each refusal lives at, and why the two refusals are kept
+distinct.
+
+It also records, without answering, the question one slot over: the ledger
+`predicate` slots (`config.conditions[].expression`,
+`screen.fields[].visibleWhen`) still admit a whitespace-only string, pinned as
+correct by #15572 on the same ground. Narrowing them re-judges that pin and
+moves a published accept-set, so it is a ruling and stays open on #17493.

packages/spec/src/automation/flow-node-expression-paths.test.ts

@@ -267,8 +267,13 @@ describe('every pre-#14149 entry resolves byte-identically (the ratchet\'s fixtu
     it('admits every string — what it SAYS is validateExpression\'s business', () => {
       expect(structuralConditionRefusal('record.rating >= 4')).toBeUndefined();
       expect(structuralConditionRefusal('{record.rating} >= 4')).toBeUndefined();
-      // Ruled correct, not a defect: a whitespace-only STRING means "not
-      // authored" on both sides and stays so.
+      // Still admitted — but on the SHAPE question only, and no longer because
+      // the blank is correct. #15662 admitted it as "not authored on both
+      // sides"; #15807 refused it at the edge door and #17322 rebound the node
+      // door at `registerFlow`, so a blank structural condition IS a defect
+      // today. It is refused there by the imported evaluated-slot rule sitting
+      // BESIDE this one, never by this function — which is exactly what these
+      // two assertions pin. See the docblock of `structuralConditionRefusal`.
       expect(structuralConditionRefusal('   ')).toBeUndefined();
       expect(structuralConditionRefusal('')).toBeUndefined();
     });

packages/spec/src/automation/flow-node-expression-paths.ts

@@ -421,10 +421,30 @@ export const STRUCTURAL_CONDITION_SHAPE_REFUSAL =
  *
  * `undefined` — admitted — for:
  *
- *  - every **string**, including a whitespace-only one. What a non-empty string
- *    *says* stays `validateExpression('predicate', …)`'s verdict, and a
- *    whitespace-only condition meaning `false` is consistent on both sides and
- *    is ruled correct, not a defect.
+ *  - every **string**, including a whitespace-only one — on the SHAPE question,
+ *    which is the only question this function answers. What a non-empty string
+ *    *says* stays `validateExpression('predicate', …)`'s verdict.
+ *
+ *    ⚠️ The whitespace-only string is still admitted here, but NOT for the
+ *    reason #15662 gave. That reason was that such a condition, meaning `false`,
+ *    "is consistent on both sides and is ruled correct, not a defect" — and
+ *    #15807 removed the ground under it, by making `FlowEdgeSchema.condition`
+ *    compose `EvaluatedExpressionInputSchema`, which refuses a blank `source` at
+ *    `FlowSchema.parse`. #17322 then ruled on the disagreement that left
+ *    (一个操作两个实现且行为不一致 ⇒ 带治理的一侧胜出,另一侧改绑) and rebound the node
+ *    door at `AutomationEngine.registerFlow`; #17495 followed at
+ *    `objectstack validate`. A blank structural condition is a defect today,
+ *    refused at all three doors.
+ *
+ *    It is refused there by the EVALUATED-SLOT rule, not by this one. Both
+ *    consumers ask `EvaluatedExpressionInputSchema` — the edge door's own
+ *    schema, imported rather than restated — in a second gate sitting behind
+ *    this shape refusal and in front of the CEL pass, answering
+ *    `EVALUATED_EXPRESSION_SOURCE_REQUIRED` and not
+ *    {@link STRUCTURAL_CONDITION_SHAPE_REFUSAL}. Keeping the two distinct is
+ *    deliberate: a string IS a well-shaped structural condition, and a second
+ *    hand-written notion of "blank" per door is exactly the drift #15662 built
+ *    this one shared refusal to prevent. ⛔ Do not move the blank rule in here.
  *  - absent / `null`. "Not authored" is not a malformed predicate; both callers
  *    already return early on it, and this agrees rather than disagreeing.
  *  - an **expression envelope the engine can evaluate**: an object carrying a
@@ -451,6 +471,23 @@ export const STRUCTURAL_CONDITION_SHAPE_REFUSAL =
  * `EvaluatedExpressionSchema` is the one place to relax, and this clause
  * follows it.
  *
+ * ## The sibling `predicate` slots — an OPEN question, not answered here
+ *
+ * The blank rule reached the two STRUCTURAL slots only. The ledger `predicate`
+ * slots — `config.conditions[].expression`, a `decision` node's branch list, and
+ * `screen.fields[].visibleWhen` — are judged by {@link predicateSlotRefusal},
+ * not by this function, and they still ADMIT a whitespace-only string:
+ * registration takes it and `evaluateCondition` answers `false`, the same silent
+ * dead branch #17322 closed one slot over. Recorded here rather than fixed,
+ * because it is a RULING and not a refactor: #15572 pinned that admission as
+ * correct on the very ground #15807 removed — that the blank is treated the same
+ * way on both sides — so narrowing those slots re-judges a pin and moves a
+ * published accept-set. #17493 carries the question (does the ledger predicate
+ * slot follow the structural one?) and it is open at the time of writing. ⛔ Do
+ * not answer it by widening this refusal: those slots do not pass through this
+ * door, and a second notion of "blank" is what the shared refusal exists to
+ * prevent.
+ *
  * ## What it refuses, and what that was doing before
  *
  * A number, a boolean, an array, or an object carrying no string `source` —

packages/spec/src/migrations/entries/semantic/18.flow-edge-condition-evaluated-slot-source-required.ts

@@ -7,14 +7,18 @@ import type { SemanticMigration } from '../../types.js';
 export const entry: SemanticMigration = {
   id: 'flow-edge-condition-evaluated-slot-source-required',
   surface:
-    'a flow edge predicate — edges[].condition on FlowEdgeSchema, the branch predicate '
-    + 'AutomationEngine.evaluateCondition runs at every traversal — authored either as an '
-    + 'expression envelope carrying only ast ({ dialect: \'cel\', ast: … } with no source), or '
-    + 'with a source that is blank after trimming, through the envelope key ({ dialect: \'cel\', '
-    + 'source: \'   \' }) or the bare-string shorthand for it (condition: \'   \'). Reachable '
-    + 'wherever a flow is authored or stored: defineStack({ flows }) sources, an exported stack '
-    + 'passed to objectstack validate, a POST /flows body, and a flow row already sitting in '
-    + 'sys_metadata',
+    'a structural flow condition, BOTH slots — edges[].condition on FlowEdgeSchema, the branch '
+    + 'predicate AutomationEngine.evaluateCondition runs at every traversal, and config.condition '
+    + 'on a flow NODE, which is a decision node predicate and on a start node the trigger gate — '
+    + 'authored either as an expression envelope carrying only ast ({ dialect: \'cel\', ast: … } '
+    + 'with no source), or with a source that is blank after trimming, through the envelope key '
+    + '({ dialect: \'cel\', source: \'   \' }) or the bare-string shorthand for it '
+    + '(condition: \'   \'). The node slot joined this entry with #17322 and #17495, which rebound '
+    + 'AutomationEngine.registerFlow and objectstack validate to the edge door\'s own rule rather '
+    + 'than deriving a second one; it is the same decision reaching the second slot, which is why '
+    + 'it is named here instead of in an entry of its own. Reachable wherever a flow is authored '
+    + 'or stored: defineStack({ flows }) sources, an exported stack passed to objectstack validate, '
+    + 'a POST /flows body, and a flow row already sitting in sys_metadata',
   replacement:
     'a non-blank `source` — `{ dialect: \'cel\', source: \'record.amount > 10\' }`, or the bare '
     + 'string `\'record.amount > 10\'` — if the edge was meant to branch; or REMOVE the '
@@ -54,23 +58,30 @@ export const entry: SemanticMigration = {
     + 'repo reading, which is why the notification is registered here rather than skipped. '
     + 'ADR-0087, ADR-0032.',
   acceptanceCriteria:
-    'Grep every authored `edges[].condition` — `defineStack({ flows })` sources, exported stacks, '
-    + '`POST /flows` bodies — and every flow row in `sys_metadata`, for an envelope with no '
-    + '`source` key and for a `source` (or bare string) that is empty after trimming. For each '
-    + 'hit decide, per the `replacement` note, whether the edge was meant to branch (author the '
-    + '`source`) or to be unconditional (remove the key) — do not default to removal. Two proofs, '
+    'Grep every authored structural condition — BOTH `edges[].condition` and a node\'s '
+    + '`config.condition` (a `decision` node\'s predicate, and on a `start` node the trigger '
+    + 'gate) — in `defineStack({ flows })` sources, exported stacks and `POST /flows` bodies, and '
+    + 'every flow row in `sys_metadata`, for an envelope with no `source` key and for a `source` '
+    + '(or bare string) that is empty after trimming. ⚠️ Sweeping only the edge key leaves the '
+    + 'node key unswept, and the node key is the one with no schema in front of it. For each '
+    + 'hit decide, per the `replacement` note, whether the condition was meant to branch (author '
+    + 'the `source`) or to be unconditional (remove the key) — do not default to removal; on a '
+    + '`start` node removal opens the trigger gate rather than preserving it. Two proofs, '
     + 'and the second is the one that matters for stored rows. (1) For a stack authored in config '
-    + 'files, `objectstack validate` is clean: it locates each offender at '
-    + '`flows.N.edges.N.condition` with the `EVALUATED_EXPRESSION_SOURCE_REQUIRED` sentence, and '
+    + 'files, `objectstack validate` is clean: it locates each offender with the '
+    + '`EVALUATED_EXPRESSION_SOURCE_REQUIRED` sentence — an edge at '
+    + '`flows.N.edges.N.condition`, and a node by the slot phrase the structural pass builds, '
+    + "e.g. `node 'gate' (start) condition` — and "
     + 'an `ast`-only envelope is also reported by the lint path as '
-    + '`STRUCTURAL_CONDITION_SHAPE_REFUSAL`. There is no CLI verb that lowers a stored row back '
+    + '`STRUCTURAL_CONDITION_SHAPE_REFUSAL`, which is the sentence the node slot earns for that '
+    + 'spelling as well. There is no CLI verb that lowers a stored row back '
     + 'into a config file, so this proof does not reach a flow that exists only in '
     + '`sys_metadata`. (2) Boot the stack and '
     + 'confirm each flow REGISTERS: no `failed to register flow` warn for it (the three boot '
     + 'paths spell it `[Automation] failed to register flow`, `[Automation] flow re-sync: failed '
     + 'to register flow` and `[Automation] cold-boot flow bind: failed to register flow`), and '
-    + 'its trigger is armed. That warn line IS the locator for a stored row: its `issues[].path` '
-    + 'names the offending edge as `edges[N].condition`. A flow that boots without that warn is '
-    + 'unaffected; every edge '
+    + 'its trigger is armed. That warn line IS the locator for a stored row: for an edge its '
+    + '`issues[].path` names `edges[N].condition`, and for a node the refusal carries that same '
+    + "slot phrase. A flow that boots without that warn is unaffected; every structural "
     + 'condition carrying a non-blank `source` parses byte-identically to before.',
 };

packages/spec/src/migrations/registry.ts

@@ -7842,14 +7842,18 @@ const step18: MigrationStep = {
     {
       id: 'flow-edge-condition-evaluated-slot-source-required',
       surface:
-        'a flow edge predicate — edges[].condition on FlowEdgeSchema, the branch predicate '
-        + 'AutomationEngine.evaluateCondition runs at every traversal — authored either as an '
-        + 'expression envelope carrying only ast ({ dialect: \'cel\', ast: … } with no source), or '
-        + 'with a source that is blank after trimming, through the envelope key ({ dialect: \'cel\', '
-        + 'source: \'   \' }) or the bare-string shorthand for it (condition: \'   \'). Reachable '
-        + 'wherever a flow is authored or stored: defineStack({ flows }) sources, an exported stack '
-        + 'passed to objectstack validate, a POST /flows body, and a flow row already sitting in '
-        + 'sys_metadata',
+        'a structural flow condition, BOTH slots — edges[].condition on FlowEdgeSchema, the branch '
+        + 'predicate AutomationEngine.evaluateCondition runs at every traversal, and config.condition '
+        + 'on a flow NODE, which is a decision node predicate and on a start node the trigger gate — '
+        + 'authored either as an expression envelope carrying only ast ({ dialect: \'cel\', ast: … } '
+        + 'with no source), or with a source that is blank after trimming, through the envelope key '
+        + '({ dialect: \'cel\', source: \'   \' }) or the bare-string shorthand for it '
+        + '(condition: \'   \'). The node slot joined this entry with #17322 and #17495, which rebound '
+        + 'AutomationEngine.registerFlow and objectstack validate to the edge door\'s own rule rather '
+        + 'than deriving a second one; it is the same decision reaching the second slot, which is why '
+        + 'it is named here instead of in an entry of its own. Reachable wherever a flow is authored '
+        + 'or stored: defineStack({ flows }) sources, an exported stack passed to objectstack validate, '
+        + 'a POST /flows body, and a flow row already sitting in sys_metadata',
       replacement:
         'a non-blank `source` — `{ dialect: \'cel\', source: \'record.amount > 10\' }`, or the bare '
         + 'string `\'record.amount > 10\'` — if the edge was meant to branch; or REMOVE the '
@@ -7889,24 +7893,31 @@ const step18: MigrationStep = {
         + 'repo reading, which is why the notification is registered here rather than skipped. '
         + 'ADR-0087, ADR-0032.',
       acceptanceCriteria:
-        'Grep every authored `edges[].condition` — `defineStack({ flows })` sources, exported stacks, '
-        + '`POST /flows` bodies — and every flow row in `sys_metadata`, for an envelope with no '
-        + '`source` key and for a `source` (or bare string) that is empty after trimming. For each '
-        + 'hit decide, per the `replacement` note, whether the edge was meant to branch (author the '
-        + '`source`) or to be unconditional (remove the key) — do not default to removal. Two proofs, '
+        'Grep every authored structural condition — BOTH `edges[].condition` and a node\'s '
+        + '`config.condition` (a `decision` node\'s predicate, and on a `start` node the trigger '
+        + 'gate) — in `defineStack({ flows })` sources, exported stacks and `POST /flows` bodies, and '
+        + 'every flow row in `sys_metadata`, for an envelope with no `source` key and for a `source` '
+        + '(or bare string) that is empty after trimming. ⚠️ Sweeping only the edge key leaves the '
+        + 'node key unswept, and the node key is the one with no schema in front of it. For each '
+        + 'hit decide, per the `replacement` note, whether the condition was meant to branch (author '
+        + 'the `source`) or to be unconditional (remove the key) — do not default to removal; on a '
+        + '`start` node removal opens the trigger gate rather than preserving it. Two proofs, '
         + 'and the second is the one that matters for stored rows. (1) For a stack authored in config '
-        + 'files, `objectstack validate` is clean: it locates each offender at '
-        + '`flows.N.edges.N.condition` with the `EVALUATED_EXPRESSION_SOURCE_REQUIRED` sentence, and '
+        + 'files, `objectstack validate` is clean: it locates each offender with the '
+        + '`EVALUATED_EXPRESSION_SOURCE_REQUIRED` sentence — an edge at '
+        + '`flows.N.edges.N.condition`, and a node by the slot phrase the structural pass builds, '
+        + "e.g. `node 'gate' (start) condition` — and "
         + 'an `ast`-only envelope is also reported by the lint path as '
-        + '`STRUCTURAL_CONDITION_SHAPE_REFUSAL`. There is no CLI verb that lowers a stored row back '
+        + '`STRUCTURAL_CONDITION_SHAPE_REFUSAL`, which is the sentence the node slot earns for that '
+        + 'spelling as well. There is no CLI verb that lowers a stored row back '
         + 'into a config file, so this proof does not reach a flow that exists only in '
         + '`sys_metadata`. (2) Boot the stack and '
         + 'confirm each flow REGISTERS: no `failed to register flow` warn for it (the three boot '
         + 'paths spell it `[Automation] failed to register flow`, `[Automation] flow re-sync: failed '
         + 'to register flow` and `[Automation] cold-boot flow bind: failed to register flow`), and '
-        + 'its trigger is armed. That warn line IS the locator for a stored row: its `issues[].path` '
-        + 'names the offending edge as `edges[N].condition`. A flow that boots without that warn is '
-        + 'unaffected; every edge '
+        + 'its trigger is armed. That warn line IS the locator for a stored row: for an edge its '
+        + '`issues[].path` names `edges[N].condition`, and for a node the refusal carries that same '
+        + "slot phrase. A flow that boots without that warn is unaffected; every structural "
         + 'condition carrying a non-blank `source` parses byte-identically to before.',
     },
     {