audit-strategy-idea

name	audit-strategy-idea
description	Audit strategy_idea_brief.json and the brainstorm conversation before strategy_spec.yaml construction begins.

Phase Path Containment Preflight

Before any phase artifact read, write, directory creation, command, or handoff, run this preflight completely and block on any failure:

1. Read .open-xquant/workspace.yaml. Resolve version_root from paths.versions_dir, using versions only when that key is absent. Require version_root to be a safe workspace-relative path: reject an absolute path or any .. path segment, resolve it canonically with symlinks, and require the result to stay inside the workspace.
2. Read current.json. For normal phase work, set expected_version_id to current.json.active_version; it must exist. Only a contract that explicitly owns cross-version inspection may instead set expected_version_id from the referenced version id for that historical read. This exception never permits active-version work to consume another version.
3. Set the intended version directory to <version_root>/<expected_version_id>/ and resolve it canonically. Require the intended version directory to remain inside the canonical version root and workspace; otherwise treat it as a symlink escape. Read version_manifest.json only from that exact directory. The manifest version_id must equal expected_version_id; for normal phase work it therefore must also equal current.json.active_version.
4. Before using each required phase_paths value, require a non-empty workspace-relative string. Reject an absolute path and any .. path segment. Resolve <workspace>/<phase_path> canonically, including existing symlink ancestors even when the leaf will be created, and require the target to be the intended version directory or a descendant of it. A symlink escape outside that directory is invalid.
5. On any identity or path failure, stop before phase artifact reads, writes, directory creation, commands, or handoffs. Do not normalize an unsafe path into acceptance and do not fall back to a default phase path.

Block examples when expected_version_id is v001 include strategy_store/v001/../v002/04_spec_build, strategy_store/v002/04_spec_build, /tmp/04_spec_build, and strategy_store/v001/escape/04_spec_build when escape is a symlink whose target is outside the intended version directory. An allowed custom nested phase path is strategy_store/v001/custom/phases/04_spec_build when its canonical target remains under the intended version directory.

For a new-version bootstrap, only manage-strategy-version may proceed before the new manifest exists or the new id becomes active. It must apply the same workspace-relative, traversal, canonical-containment, and symlink checks to every constructed phase path before directory creation, then write a matching manifest before publishing current.json last.

Version Path Resolution

Before using any <phase_paths.*> or <version_root> placeholder, read .open-xquant/workspace.yaml. Resolve version_root from paths.versions_dir; use versions only when that key is absent. Require a safe relative path whose resolved target stays inside the workspace. Then read <version_root>/<version_id>/version_manifest.json and use its exact phase_paths entry for each phase. For example, a configured root of research_versions must resolve the spec-build phase to research_versions/v003/04_spec_build; never redirect it to a default-root phase path.

Strategy Idea Auditor

Use this skill after brainstorm-strategy-idea writes strategy_idea_brief.json and before build-strategy-spec is allowed to run.

This skill audits the brainstorm process. It does not judge whether the strategy will work, and it does not translate the idea into a SPEC.

Inputs

• strategy_idea_brief.json

• Agent-provided raw conversation history. Do not assume a filename or path. The invoking Agent must supply the exact user/agent conversation text or Studio-provided object in a task-local variable such as:

  CONVERSATION_HISTORY_RAW:
  <paste or load the exact brainstorm conversation text>
  

If CONVERSATION_HISTORY_RAW is missing, empty, summarized, or not exact, the audit must block. Do not use the SHA-256 of an empty string as a placeholder conversation hash unless the actual raw conversation is truly empty, which is not a valid strategy brainstorm. The hash must be computed from the exact raw conversation supplied by the coordinator.

Canonical hash rule: take the text after the CONVERSATION_HISTORY_RAW: marker, strip only leading and trailing whitespace from that body, then compute SHA-256 over the resulting UTF-8 text while preserving all interior content, line breaks, and order. Compare this canonical hash to strategy_idea_brief.json.conversation_hash.

Version-Governed Artifact Gate

Before reading or writing audit artifacts, read current.json and use active_version as version_id. The version-governed input brief is:

<phase_paths.01_brainstorm>/strategy_idea_brief.json

Write strategy_idea_audit.json only to:

<phase_paths.02_idea_audit>/strategy_idea_audit.json

The resolved output path is:

<phase_paths.02_idea_audit>/strategy_idea_audit.json

Do not write root-level strategy_idea_audit.json.

Scope

Do:

• audit the strategy brainstorm workflow
• verify that every confirmed value in strategy_idea_brief.json has user evidence in the raw conversation
• verify that every phase was explained before the brainstormer asked for values
• verify that defaults and candidates were explicitly confirmed by the user
• verify that strategy_idea_brief.json.conversation_hash equals the SHA-256 hash computed from the supplied exact raw conversation
• write strategy_idea_audit.json

Do not:

• Do not read, write, or edit strategy_spec.yaml
• Do not run oxq
• Do not export component_catalog.json
• Do not repair strategy_idea_brief.json
• Do not fill missing values on behalf of the user
• Do not call build-strategy-spec

Strategy Idea Workflow Audit

Check that:

• every required brainstorm phase is present
• phases appear and complete in the required order
• the brainstormer explained the phase before asking for values
• the brainstormer redirected the user to the earliest incomplete phase when the user skipped ahead
• default or candidate values were explicitly confirmed by the user
• every confirmed phase has user evidence from CONVERSATION_HISTORY_RAW
• no phase marks inferred, defaulted, or example values as confirmed
• strategy_idea_brief.json.conversation_hash is present, non-placeholder, not the hash of an empty string, and exactly equals the hash computed from the supplied exact raw conversation

Required phase names:

• research intent and hypothesis
• market, universe, and benchmark
• data and evaluation window
• Indicator definitions
• Signal rule definitions
• Portfolio construction
• execution, costs, rebalance, and risk constraints
• metrics, robustness, and decision policy

Audit phase coverage against SPEC field groups:

• research phase: strategy_id, name, research.*
• market phase: market.*, universe.*, benchmark.symbols
• data phase: data.*, validation.*
• Indicator definitions phase: signal.indicators.*
• signal phase: signal.signal_time, signal.rules.*
• portfolio phase: portfolio.type, portfolio.params
• execution phase: execution.*, cost.*, portfolio.rules.*
• decision phase: metrics.*, robustness.*, decision_policy.*

Missing, skipped, unconfirmed, or out-of-order brainstorm phases block the audit. A phase also blocks when the brainstormer did not explain its purpose before asking for values, when candidate defaults were not explicitly accepted, or when the brainstormer failed to redirect the user back into the workflow after a skip.

A missing, placeholder, empty-string, summarized-conversation, or mismatched conversation_hash also blocks the audit. The audit artifact must record the computed conversation hash and the found brief hash value in blocking_findings.

Indicator definitions require special attention. The audit must verify that the user described each Indicator as an Indicator, not only as a final signal, and that the brief maps those definitions to signal.indicators.*.

Default Confirmation Rule

Defaults and examples are never confirmed by existence. A value passes only when the user explicitly gave it, accepted a candidate, or confirmed a grouped candidate checklist.

If a value is useful but not confirmed, block the audit and ask the coordinator to return to brainstorm-strategy-idea. Do not make the confirmation yourself.

Output Artifact

Write strategy_idea_audit.json:

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "status": "pass | block | fail",
  "idea_workflow_pass": true,
  "strategy_idea_brief": "<phase_paths.01_brainstorm>/strategy_idea_brief.json",
  "strategy_idea_brief_hash": "sha256:<hash>",
  "conversation_hash": "sha256:<hash>",
  "phase_audits": [
    {
      "phase": "Indicator definitions",
      "status": "confirmed | missing | skipped | unconfirmed | out_of_order",
      "order": 4,
      "purpose_explained": true,
      "spec_fields": ["signal.indicators.*"],
      "evidence": ["..."],
      "blocking": false
    }
  ],
  "default_confirmation_audits": [],
  "blocking_findings": [],
  "next_required_phase": "brainstorm | build"
}

Set status: block, idea_workflow_pass: false, and next_required_phase: brainstorm when any workflow or confirmation check fails.

Set status: pass, idea_workflow_pass: true, and next_required_phase: build only when the entire brainstorm brief is complete, ordered, explained, and backed by user evidence.

Result

Return the audit status, strategy_idea_audit.json path, blocking findings, and the next required phase. If the audit blocks, ask for a return to brainstorm-strategy-idea, not to build-strategy-spec.