artifact-channel

name	artifact-channel
description	Intra-cycle artifact-channel rules. Use when a role writes a per-cycle artifact (gamma-scaffold, self-coherence, beta-review, alpha-closeout, beta-closeout, gamma-closeout, cdd-iteration, gamma-clarification) to .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ on the cycle branch, when one role reads a predecessor role's artifact as input, or when γ moves the cycle directory at release.
artifact_class	skill
kata_surface	embedded
governing_question	How do α, β, and γ hand work to each other inside a single cycle — using a sequential per-role-owned write channel over .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ — without inventing the channel rules per cycle and without leaking matter back into the channel after merge?
visibility	public
parent	handoff
triggers	["artifact-channel","unreleased","per-role artifact","sequential handoff","cycle directory","frozen snapshot","release-time move"]
scope	task-local
inputs	["active CDD-class cycle on origin/cycle/{N}","active role (α / β / γ; ε at close-out)","predecessor-role artifact(s) when applicable"]
outputs	["per-role artifact written at .cdd/unreleased/{N}/{filename}.md","SHA advance on origin/cycle/{N} (the handoff signal to the successor role)",{"at release":"cycle directory moved from .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ to .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ (frozen snapshot)"}]
requires	["cycle/{N} exists on origin","the role's predecessor (if any) has signaled completion via the channel (see §2.3 Sequential rule)"]
calls	["HANDOFF.md","mid-flight/SKILL.md","dispatch/SKILL.md","cross-repo/SKILL.md"]

Artifact Channel — intra-cycle α → β → γ sequential handoff

Core principle

.cdd/unreleased/{N}/ on the cycle branch is the sequential intra-cycle handoff substrate. Each per-cycle artifact has exactly one owning role at write time; successor roles read but do not modify predecessor artifacts (except by their own append, e.g. α's fix-round sections after β's RC verdict); the channel directory freezes on merge and moves to .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ at release. Chat does not transit the channel; the artifact channel does.

The artifact channel is the wire format by which α, β, and γ hand work to each other within a single cycle. Each role writes its artifacts at canonical paths under .cdd/unreleased/{N}/; the SHA advance on origin/cycle/{N} is the handoff signal to the polling successor role. The substrate is filesystem + git — no chat, no separate coordination database, no out-of-band side channel. The cycle directory carries the cycle's complete record from γ-scaffold to γ-closeout; at release-time, γ moves it from .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ to .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ per the frozen-snapshot rule, where it stays as the immutable post-release record.

The failure mode is channel-substrate drift — a role writes a coordination signal to chat instead of to the channel; a role writes to a sibling role's artifact and obscures attribution; the cycle directory is mutated after merge (e.g. an α-closeout edit dated after release); the directory is left at .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ past release and loses its version association. The result is a cycle whose record is incomplete, whose role attribution is ambiguous, and whose post-release assessment cannot reconstruct what happened from the cycle directory alone.

This skill is the canonical surface for the wire-format invariants: the channel directory shape, the per-role write ownership pattern, the sequential α→β→γ flow, the frozen-snapshot rule on merge, and the release-time directory move. Consumer protocol packages bind the pattern to their specific artifact instantiation; for CDS-class cycles, the canonical per-artifact contract (filenames, content sections, ownership rows, verification gates, ordered 13-stage flow) lives in cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Artifact contract". This skill governs the channel; cnos.cds governs the per-artifact contents.

Authority

• This skill (in cnos.handoff) is the only canonical home for the channel-shape wire-format invariants: the channel directory path pattern (.cdd/unreleased/{N}/), the per-role write ownership pattern (α writes α artifacts; β writes β artifacts; γ writes γ artifacts), the sequential α→β→γ flow (each role's artifact is the successor role's input), the frozen-snapshot rule (post-merge immutability of the channel directory), the release-time directory move (cycle dir migrates to .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ before tag). If another skill or doctrine surface carries the same wire-format claims, this skill governs.
• The consumer protocol packages govern the per-artifact instantiation. For CDS-class cycles, the canonical home is cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Artifact contract" — specifically the Location matrix (canonical filename per artifact), Ownership matrix (per-role artifact assignment with verification gates), and Ordered flow (the 13-stage flow: design → contract → plan → tests → code → docs → self-coherence → review → gate → release → observe → assess → close). CDR-class cycles bind differently; future c-d-X may bind differently still. The wire-format pattern is what this skill owns; the per-consumer instantiation is what cds/cdr/c-d-X own.
• The artifacts on this channel are also the substrate for sibling sub-skills' wire formats. cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md (gamma-clarification.md / gamma-coordination.md) and cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/receipt-stream/SKILL.md (cdd-iteration.md aggregator) live on this channel. Their authoring/reader/cadence rules are theirs; the channel-shape they live on is this skill's.

Scope

In scope:

• The channel directory path pattern (.cdd/unreleased/{N}/); the cycle-branch substrate (origin/cycle/{N}); the SHA-advance handoff signal.
• The per-role write ownership pattern (which role writes which class of artifact; what successor roles may and may not do to predecessor artifacts).
• The sequential rule (α before β; β before γ; γ-scaffold exception at cycle-start).
• The frozen-snapshot rule on merge (post-merge immutability of the channel directory; the release-time directory move from .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ to .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/).
• The cross-cycle aggregation pointer (per-cycle cdd-iteration.md → .cdd/iterations/INDEX.md; aggregator rules canonicalize in Sub 5 / receipt-stream/SKILL.md).
• Empirical anchors (every cycle since the channel was established in pre-#364 form).

Out of scope:

• The per-artifact filenames and content sections. Those live in cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Artifact contract" → "Location matrix" (CDS-specific filename set: self-coherence.md, alpha-closeout.md, beta-review.md, beta-closeout.md, gamma-closeout.md, gamma-scaffold.md, cdd-iteration.md, RELEASE.md, version-snapshot directory, PRA path, cross-repo trace dir). CDR and future c-d-X bind differently.
• The per-artifact role ownership table (who writes which file, when, what the verification gate is, what missing means). Lives in cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Artifact contract" → "Ownership matrix".
• The CDS-specific 13-stage Ordered flow. Lives in cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Artifact contract" → "Ordered flow". CDR has a different flow; future c-d-X may have other flows.
• The mid-flight rescue mechanism (gamma-clarification.md write/read protocol; cache-bust semantics). Lives in cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md. This skill owns the channel; mid-flight owns the rescue protocol that lives on the channel.
• The cross-cycle aggregator content (per-finding shape; INDEX.md row format; cross-repo trace bundle). Lives in cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/receipt-stream/SKILL.md (Sub 5 of cnos#404; landed via cnos#419). This skill owns the per-cycle channel; receipt-stream owns the cross-cycle aggregation.
• The harness substrate (polling primitives, Monitor wrapping, reachability re-probe). Lives in cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/harness/SKILL.md. This skill assumes a polling primitive emits on cycle-branch SHA transitions.
• Tooling that auto-verifies channel discipline (cn cdd verify channel-integrity checks). Deferred; doctrine first, tooling later.

---

1. Define

1.1. What the channel is

The channel is one directory per cycle: .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ on origin/cycle/{N}, where {N} is the cycle's issue number. Inside the directory, files are role-distinguished by filename, not by sub-directory. The directory carries the cycle's complete record from γ-scaffold (at cycle-start) through γ-closeout (at close); at release-time, γ moves the directory to .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ per the frozen-snapshot rule (§2.4).

The substrate is filesystem + git. The handoff signal between roles is the SHA advance on origin/cycle/{N} — the polling successor role's polling primitive (per cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Coordination surfaces" → "Polling primitives") emits on the SHA transition and the successor's next intake iteration reads the predecessor's artifact live. No chat, no out-of-band coordination database, no separate inbox.

1.2. What the channel is not

The channel is not:

• a chat-coordination substitute. Chat does not transit the channel; if a load-bearing fact is communicated only in chat, it is invisible to polling roles and to the post-release record.
• a shared-write directory. Each artifact has one owning role at write time. Sibling roles read but do not modify (except by their own append, e.g. α's fix-round sections after β's RC verdict — α appends to α's own self-coherence.md, never to β's beta-review.md).
• a multi-cycle channel. One directory = one cycle. Cross-cycle aggregation runs through .cdd/iterations/INDEX.md per the receipt-stream sub-skill (Sub 5 of cnos#404; landed via cnos#419).
• mutable post-merge. Once the cycle merges, the channel directory freezes. Subsequent edits to predecessor artifacts are reviewable as protocol violations — corrections go in a new cycle's close-out or in the post-release assessment.
• the canonical post-release snapshot. The frozen post-release snapshot lives under docs/{tier}/{bundle}/{X.Y.Z}/ per CDS Location matrix; the channel directory at .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ is the cycle's role-local close-out evidence storage.

1.3. Failure mode

The channel fails through channel-substrate drift:

• A role writes a coordination signal to chat instead of to the channel — the signal is invisible to polling sessions and to the post-release assessment.
• A role writes to a sibling role's artifact — attribution becomes ambiguous; β's review verdict and α's self-coherence are no longer distinguishable.
• The cycle directory is mutated after merge — predecessor artifacts are silently edited to fit the post-merge narrative; the cycle's record is no longer trustworthy.
• The directory is left at .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ past release — it loses its version association; future cycles operating on the same issue number (re-opens, follow-ons) collide with the stale directory.
• A coordination note lives only in the GitHub issue comments or in a chat backlog — the artifact channel is incomplete and the post-release reconstruction is impossible.

The protocol closes each failure mode by naming the channel-shape invariants explicitly and binding role-write ownership, sequential flow, and frozen-snapshot rules to the channel directory.

---

2. Unfold

2.1. Channel directory

The canonical channel path is:

.cdd/unreleased/{N}/

on origin/cycle/{N}, where {N} is the cycle's GitHub issue number. The directory exists for the duration of the cycle — from γ-scaffold (at cycle-start) through release-time move (at release). The path is consumer-agnostic (CDS, CDR, future c-d-X all use the same channel-directory shape); only the filenames inside vary per consumer protocol.

The cycle-branch substrate is origin/cycle/{N} — a single named branch per cycle, created by γ from origin/main at cycle-start per cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Development lifecycle" → "Branch rule". The channel directory lives on the cycle branch (not on main) until the release-time move; polling main for in-flight cycle dirs is silent.

The handoff signal between roles is the SHA advance on origin/cycle/{N}. Each commit to the cycle branch advances the SHA; polling primitives detect the transition and wake successor roles. The signal is git-native — no separate notification channel, no webhook, no inbox. The SHA advance is the only event the successor role needs.

2.2. Per-role write ownership

Every per-cycle artifact has exactly one owning role at write time. The pattern (consumer-protocol-agnostic):

Owner role	Artifact class	Pattern
γ	scaffold	Cycle-start artifact; carries γ's selection decision and the dispatch surface set. One per cycle.
α	role-local primary branch artifact	The role's review-readiness signal; gap / mode / ACs / trace / fix-rounds. One per cycle.
α	role close-out	The role's post-merge findings record. One per cycle.
β	role-local review record	The review CLP rounds + verdicts. One per cycle; one section per round.
β	role close-out	The role's post-review close-out + release evidence. One per cycle.
γ	role close-out	The cycle's closure declaration + triage record. One per cycle.
γ	cross-cycle receipt	The per-cycle iteration artifact (when protocol_gap_count > 0; courtesy stub permitted when count is 0). Feeds the cross-cycle aggregator.
γ	mid-flight rescue	The clarification artifact (per cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md). One file per cycle (appended to per event).

Read access is universal; write access is role-local. α reads γ's scaffold (it is α's intake brief); β reads α's primary branch artifact (it is β's review subject); γ reads both close-outs (they are γ's triage inputs). The reader does not modify the predecessor's artifact — the reader makes its observations and writes its own role-local artifact.

The one structured exception is α's fix-round append after β's RC verdict. When β returns RC, α appends a fix-round section to its own primary branch artifact (self-coherence.md for CDS-class) naming each finding addressed, the commit SHA that addressed it, and any reasoning β needs to re-verify. α does not edit β's review record; β iterates a new round in beta-review.md. The fix-round pattern keeps role attribution intact.

The consumer-specific filename set lives in cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Artifact contract" → "Location matrix" (CDS-class: gamma-scaffold.md, self-coherence.md, alpha-closeout.md, beta-review.md, beta-closeout.md, gamma-closeout.md, cdd-iteration.md, plus the cycle-orthogonal RELEASE.md and PRA at canonical version-directory paths). CDR has its own filename set; future c-d-X protocols bind their own. The wire-format pattern (per-role ownership, sequential flow) is what this skill owns; the per-protocol filename set is consumer-side.

2.3. Sequential rule

The intra-cycle flow is sequential α → β → γ with one cycle-start exception:

1. γ-scaffold (cycle-start exception) — γ writes the scaffold artifact before α is dispatched. This is the only cycle-start γ write; it is the binding gate per cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/gamma/SKILL.md §2.5 → "Pre-dispatch γ scaffold check". The scaffold is α's input.
2. α phase — α writes its primary branch artifact incrementally on the cycle branch; the review-readiness section is the last section appended. The α phase ends when α signals review-readiness via the review-readiness section's append commit. α's primary artifact is β's input.
3. β phase — β reads α's primary artifact + the diff + the issue body; runs the review CLP; writes the review record incrementally (one section per round). On A verdict, β merges. On RC, α appends a fix-round; β re-reviews. The β phase ends at merge (for non-RC paths) or at A after RC rounds.
4. Re-dispatched α (close-out) — after β merge, α is re-dispatched (per cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/operator/SKILL.md re-dispatch protocol) and writes its close-out artifact. α exits.
5. β close-out — β writes its close-out artifact (release evidence + close-out findings) in the same β session as the merge (per CDS Field 6 collapse). β exits.
6. γ phase — γ verifies both close-outs are on main; writes the per-cycle receipt artifact (when applicable); writes the cycle's closure declaration; moves the cycle directory at release-time per §2.4.

The successor role's intake requires the predecessor role's signaled completion. β does not begin review until α has signaled review-readiness (in α's primary artifact). γ does not begin triage until both close-outs are on main. Each role's polling primitive emits when the predecessor's relevant artifact reaches the expected state; the role's intake iteration reads the artifact live.

The two exceptions to the strictly-sequential pattern:

• The γ-scaffold cycle-start write (§2.3 step 1) — γ writes before α exists in the cycle. Not strictly sequential because α has not yet written anything; γ-scaffold is the cycle's initial state.
• Mid-flight γ writes (gamma-clarification.md / gamma-coordination.md) — γ writes mid-cycle while α and/or β are in-flight. This is the rescue channel (per cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md); the channel is the substrate but the sequence is not strict α→β→γ. The clarification is bounded recovery — not routine cadence — and its writes do not violate the sequential rule because they are sibling-channel writes, not predecessor-overwrites.

2.4. Frozen-snapshot rule (release-time move)

When the cycle merges, the channel directory freezes — no further writes to predecessor artifacts. The frozen rule has two phases:

2.4.1. Post-merge, pre-release (in-version state)

Between β merge and γ tag/release, the channel directory at .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ is on origin/main (β merged it). γ writes close-out and (when applicable) receipt artifacts in this window; these are the only permitted writes — and they are γ-authored writes to γ-owned files (gamma-closeout.md, cdd-iteration.md, mid-flight files when a rescue event fires post-merge), not edits to predecessor artifacts.

2.4.2. Release-time move

Before γ requests the tag from δ, γ moves the channel directory:

.cdd/unreleased/{N}/  →  .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/

The move is part of the release commit on main (per cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/release/SKILL.md §2.5a and cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Artifact contract" → "Location matrix"). After the move:

• .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ no longer exists on main (the directory has moved).
• .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ carries the cycle's complete record, version-anchored.
• Multiple cycle directories may live under one release directory when several issues ship in the same release.

After the release commit, the directory is immutable. Subsequent edits to files inside .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ are reviewable as protocol violations — corrections go in a new cycle's close-out, in the post-release assessment, or in a documentation-only release with its own version-snapshot. Doc-only releases use .cdd/releases/docs/{ISO-date}/{N}/ as the destination directory shape per CDS Location matrix.

The release-time move is the wire-format invariant; the per-consumer realization (which release script runs the move; how cn cdd verify checks the move happened; how the legacy aggregate paths are detected) is consumer-side at cnos.cds + cnos.cdd/release skills.

2.5. Cross-cycle aggregation

The channel is per-cycle; cross-cycle aggregation runs through one persistent aggregator file at .cdd/iterations/INDEX.md at the repo root. Each cycle that produces a cdd-iteration.md (per the cadence rule — required when protocol_gap_count > 0; courtesy stub permitted when count is 0 per cnos#401) updates INDEX.md with one row naming the cycle / issue / date / findings / patches / MCAs / no-patch / path.

The aggregator's row format, the per-finding shape inside cdd-iteration.md, and the cross-repo trace bundle (when a finding's disposition is patch-landed with Cross-repo target) are owned by Sub 5 of cnos#404 — the receipt-stream sub-skill (cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/receipt-stream/SKILL.md; landed via cnos#419). This skill names the aggregator's existence and channel-relationship (per-cycle artifact on this channel feeds the cross-cycle aggregator); the aggregation rules themselves are receipt-stream's.

---

3. Rules

3.1. Write to the channel, not to chat

• ❌ Communicate a load-bearing cycle decision in chat alone — invisible to polling roles and to the post-release record.
• ✅ Every load-bearing decision lives in the role's own channel artifact; chat is communication, not the cycle's record.

3.2. Per-role write ownership; no sibling overwrites

• ❌ β edits α's primary branch artifact to "clarify" what α should have written.
• ❌ α edits β's review record to address findings inline.
• ✅ Each role writes its own role-local artifacts; α's fix-round append after β's RC verdict goes in α's own primary artifact, not β's review record.

3.3. Predecessor's signaled completion is the successor's intake gate

• ❌ β begins review before α has signaled review-readiness in α's primary artifact.
• ❌ γ begins triage before both close-outs are on main.
• ✅ Each role's intake polls for the predecessor's signaled completion (review-readiness section append; close-out commit on main); the successor's intake iteration reads the predecessor's artifact live.

3.4. Channel directory freezes on merge

• ❌ Edit a predecessor's artifact post-merge to fit the post-merge narrative.
• ❌ Add a "clarification" to α's self-coherence.md after β has approved and merged.
• ✅ Post-merge writes are γ-authored writes to γ-owned files (close-out, iteration receipt, mid-flight files when a rescue event fires post-merge). Predecessor artifacts are immutable.

3.5. Release-time move is part of the release commit

• ❌ Leave the cycle directory at .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ after release; future cycles collide on the same issue number.
• ❌ Move the directory in a separate post-release commit, after the tag fires.
• ✅ γ moves .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ → .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ in the same release commit as RELEASE.md; the move is on main before γ requests the tag from δ.

3.6. Post-release, the directory is immutable

• ❌ Edit a file inside .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ to correct a typo discovered later; it is the cycle's frozen post-release record.
• ✅ Corrections go in the post-release assessment, in a new cycle's close-out, or in a doc-only release with its own version-snapshot under .cdd/releases/docs/{ISO-date}/{N}/.

3.7. Cross-reference, do not duplicate

Consumer protocol skills cite this skill for the channel wire-format invariants. If you find channel-shape doctrine in cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/, cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md, or elsewhere that contradicts this skill, this skill governs and the other surface is patched to reference this one. The per-artifact contract (which files exist; what each file contains; who owns each row) stays at the consumer protocol's home (cds for software cycles; cdr for research cycles); the channel-shape lives here.

---

4. Empirical anchors

Every cycle since the channel was established (pre-#364) uses this channel. The channel is the default substrate — no cycle ships without it. Representative anchors:

• The .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ → .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ directory move pattern. Standardized in pre-#283 form; refined through cnos#283–#287 (cycle-branch naming convention) and cnos#364 (per-role artifact-file conventions). Every release commit since cnos#364 carries the move as part of the release commit.
• Per-role write ownership. Crystallized through cnos#287 (γ-owned branch pre-flight) and cnos#369 (the gamma-scaffold binding gate; β's role-side enforcement via review/SKILL.md rule 3.11b). The pattern is empirically stable: across the cnos#388–#412 wave, no cycle showed cross-role artifact mutation.
• Sequential α→β→γ. The pattern is empirically stable: across the cnos#388–#412 wave, every cycle followed the sequential pattern (with the γ-scaffold cycle-start exception). cnos#369 was the empirical anchor for the binding gate that makes the pattern protocol-enforced.
• Mid-flight on-channel writes. The cnos#391 rescue cycle (anchored in cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md) is the canonical demonstration that the channel handles non-sequential γ writes via sibling-channel files (gamma-clarification.md); the sequential rule is not violated.
• #406–#412 wave — the post-codification cycles that exercised the channel in steady-state. Every cycle in the wave produced a complete .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ directory and a clean release-time move; the channel's wire-format is operationally stable.

---

5. Verify

5.1. Channel directory check (per cycle, at scaffold time)

• Does .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ exist on origin/cycle/{N} after γ-scaffold commit?
• Is .cdd/unreleased/{N}/gamma-scaffold.md present and γ-authored?

5.2. Per-role write ownership check (at review and close-out times)

• Are α-owned artifacts (e.g. self-coherence.md, alpha-closeout.md for CDS-class) authored only by α-attributed commits?
• Are β-owned artifacts (beta-review.md, beta-closeout.md) authored only by β-attributed commits?
• Are γ-owned artifacts (gamma-scaffold.md, gamma-closeout.md, cdd-iteration.md, mid-flight files) authored only by γ-attributed commits?
• Are α's fix-round appends (after β RC) in α's own primary artifact, not in β's review record?

5.3. Sequential rule check (at review time)

• Did β begin review only after α's review-readiness signal commit?
• Did γ begin close-out triage only after both close-outs were on main?

5.4. Frozen-snapshot check (at release time)

• Is .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ moved to .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ in the release commit (same commit as RELEASE.md)?
• Are there any post-merge edits to predecessor artifacts? If yes, are they γ-authored writes to γ-owned files (permitted) or sibling overwrites (protocol violations)?
• Post-release, is .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/{N}/ immutable (no further commits touching files inside)?

5.5. Cross-cycle aggregation check (at close-out)

• If protocol_gap_count > 0, does .cdd/iterations/INDEX.md carry a row for cycle N?
• If protocol_gap_count == 0, is the courtesy-stub cdd-iteration.md present (or explicitly omitted per cnos#401 cadence rule)?

---

6. Related documents

• cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/HANDOFF.md — package contract; this skill is one sub-surface.
• cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md — the rescue protocol that lives on this channel. Companion sub-skill landed alongside this one under Sub 4 of cnos#404. mid-flight owns the gamma-clarification.md write/read rules; this skill owns the channel substrate.
• cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/dispatch/SKILL.md — the dispatch wire format; the dispatch prompt initiates the cycle that uses this channel. dispatch cites this skill for the .cdd/unreleased/{N}/ per-role write ownership.
• cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/receipt-stream/SKILL.md — Sub 5 of cnos#404 (landed via cnos#419). The cross-cycle aggregator (.cdd/iterations/INDEX.md; per-finding shape; cross-repo trace bundle). Receipt-stream consumes the per-cycle cdd-iteration.md artifact this channel produces.
• cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/cross-repo/SKILL.md — STATUS state machine; the cross-repo proposal lifecycle is orthogonal to this channel but uses a parallel directory shape (.cdd/iterations/cross-repo/{counterpart-repo}/{slug}/) for bilateral coordination.
• cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Artifact contract" — the CDS-class per-artifact contract: Location matrix (canonical filenames); Ownership matrix (per-role artifact assignment with verification gates); Ordered flow (13-stage flow); Frozen snapshot rule (the cds-side realization of this skill's §2.4); Trace format. CDS binds and consumes the channel pattern declared here; it does not own the channel.
• cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Coordination surfaces" → "Polling primitives" — the polling primitives that detect the cycle-branch SHA advance (the handoff signal this skill names).
• cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/gamma/SKILL.md §2.5 → "Pre-dispatch γ scaffold check" — the binding gate at cycle-start; γ MUST NOT dispatch α until gamma-scaffold.md exists on origin/cycle/{N}.
• cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/alpha/SKILL.md — α's role-local channel obligations (write self-coherence.md incrementally; append review-readiness as the final section; append fix-round sections after β RC).
• cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/beta/SKILL.md — β's role-local channel obligations (read α's primary artifact; write review record per round; write close-out + release evidence).
• cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/release/SKILL.md §2.5a — the release-time directory move mechanics (the cdd-side realization of §2.4.2).
• cnos#364 — per-role artifact filename conventions empirical anchor.
• cnos#369 — the gamma-scaffold binding gate empirical anchor.
• cnos#401 — the courtesy-stub cdd-iteration.md cadence rule.
• cnos#404 — parent tracker (handoff/coordination extraction wave).
• cnos#418 — the codification cycle for this surface (Sub 4 of cnos#404).

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7. Non-goals

• This skill does NOT own the per-artifact filenames, content sections, or 13-stage Ordered flow. Those are CDS-specific (and CDR-different; future c-d-X may differ further) and live in cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Artifact contract". This skill names the channel-shape; cds names the file set.
• This skill does NOT own the mid-flight rescue mechanism. gamma-clarification.md's write/read protocol, cache-bust semantics, and resumption protocol are at cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/mid-flight/SKILL.md. This skill names the channel that hosts the rescue file; mid-flight names the rescue's behavior.
• This skill does NOT own the cross-cycle aggregator. The per-finding shape, the INDEX.md row format, and the cross-repo trace bundle are at cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/receipt-stream/SKILL.md (Sub 5 of cnos#404; landed via cnos#419). This skill names the per-cycle cdd-iteration.md artifact's existence and channel-relationship; receipt-stream owns the aggregation rules.
• This skill does NOT own the dispatch wire format or the implementation-contract schema. Those live in cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/dispatch/SKILL.md. This skill names the channel α/β/γ use after dispatch; dispatch names the prompt that initiates the cycle.
• This skill does NOT own the cross-repo proposal lifecycle (STATUS state machine; bundle file sets; LINEAGE.md schemas). Those live in cnos.handoff/skills/handoff/cross-repo/SKILL.md. The cross-repo bundle uses a parallel directory shape (.cdd/iterations/cross-repo/{counterpart-repo}/{slug}/); the two channels are orthogonal.
• This skill does NOT own the polling primitives or harness substrate. Those live in cnos.cds/skills/cds/CDS.md §"Coordination surfaces" → "Polling primitives" and cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/harness/SKILL.md. This skill assumes a polling primitive emits on cycle-branch SHA transitions; it does not specify how.
• This skill does NOT change the rescue mechanism's behavior, the artifact-file names, or the directory-move discipline. Sub 4 of cnos#404 is a wholesale extraction of an empirically-stable channel pattern; the wire-format invariants are preserved verbatim from the empirical practice.
• This skill does NOT lift the channel pattern into a typed schema. Whether to type the channel-directory contents into schemas/handoff/artifact-channel.cue is deferred; if a future cycle pressures the type-lift, the Markdown invariants reference the schema by $ref then.

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8. Kata

Scenario

γ is about to dispatch α on cycle/N. The cycle is a substantial CDS-class cycle (mode = substantial); γ has already drafted the dispatch prompt with a populated implementation contract per dispatch/SKILL.md §2.3. The channel directory .cdd/unreleased/N/ does not yet exist on origin/cycle/N.

Expected reasoning

1. Scaffold write (cycle-start exception, §2.3 step 1). γ writes .cdd/unreleased/N/gamma-scaffold.md per the per-role write ownership pattern (γ owns gamma-scaffold). γ commits and pushes to origin/cycle/N. The binding gate at cnos.cdd/skills/cdd/gamma/SKILL.md §2.5 requires the scaffold's presence before α dispatch; γ has satisfied it.

2. α phase, intake. γ dispatches α. α's intake polls origin/cycle/N; the SHA advance from the scaffold commit wakes α. α reads gamma-scaffold.md (the scaffold is α's input per the sequential rule). α begins implementation per the dispatch prompt + scaffold.

3. α phase, primary artifact. α writes self-coherence.md incrementally on the cycle branch (one section per commit per the CDS Large-file authoring rule). The final section append is the review-readiness signal — α appends ## Review-readiness | round 1 | ... and pushes. This is α's signaled completion; the SHA advance wakes β.

4. β phase. β reads α's primary artifact + the diff + the issue body (β does not modify α's primary artifact). β writes beta-review.md incrementally per round. On A verdict, β merges. (If RC, α appends a fix-round section to its own self-coherence.md — never to β's beta-review.md — and β re-reviews in a new round.)

5. Close-out phase. α is re-dispatched after merge; α writes alpha-closeout.md. β writes beta-closeout.md (in the same β session as the merge per CDS Field 6 collapse). γ verifies both close-outs are on main; writes gamma-closeout.md; if protocol_gap_count > 0 (or as a courtesy stub per cnos#401), writes cdd-iteration.md and adds a row to .cdd/iterations/INDEX.md.

6. Release-time move (§2.4.2). Before γ requests the tag from δ, γ moves .cdd/unreleased/N/ → .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/N/ as part of the release commit (same commit as RELEASE.md). After the move, .cdd/unreleased/N/ no longer exists on main; the cycle's record is version-anchored at .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/N/.

7. Post-release, immutable (§3.6). The directory at .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/N/ is immutable. Any subsequent correction goes in a follow-on cycle's close-out, in the post-release assessment, or in a doc-only release with its own version-snapshot.

Common failures

• γ dispatches α before writing gamma-scaffold.md — the binding gate at γ §2.5 catches this at γ-side; β's rule 3.11b catches it at β-side if it survives.
• β edits α's self-coherence.md to "clarify" something — sibling overwrite; rule 3.2 violation.
• α appends a fix-round section to β's beta-review.md instead of its own self-coherence.md — sibling overwrite; rule 3.2 violation.
• γ leaves .cdd/unreleased/N/ on main after release — rule 3.5 violation; future cycle on issue N collides with stale directory.
• γ edits alpha-closeout.md post-release "to add a missing finding" — rule 3.6 violation; corrections go in a follow-on cycle.

Verification

• The cycle directory exists on origin/cycle/N after γ-scaffold commit; exists on main after merge; moved to .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/N/ in the release commit.
• All artifacts attribute commits to their owning role (α-N: / β-N: / γ-N: prefix convention).
• No sibling-overwrite commits (a role committing to another role's owned artifact).
• Post-release, .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/N/ is unmodified.

Reflection

A second γ reading the cycle's record (from the frozen .cdd/releases/{X.Y.Z}/N/ directory alone) should be able to reconstruct the cycle's full history — who wrote what when, what the review verdicts were, how findings were addressed, what the close-out triage decided — without consulting chat history, operator notes, or any out-of-band source. The channel carries the complete record.

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End of skill.