hlv-validate

name	hlv-validate
description	Run all mandatory validation gates (from gates-policy.yaml) and produce a release decision. Use after /hlv-implement completes, when the user says "validate", "run gates", "check gates", or "release check".
disable-model-invocation	true
allowed-tools	Read Glob Grep Bash Agent
metadata	{"author":"hlv","version":"1.0"}

HLV Validate — Run Gates, Decide Release

Execute all mandatory validation gates defined in gates-policy.yaml. Collect results, update project status, produce release decision. The gate set depends on the project profile — do NOT assume a fixed number of gates.

Step 0: Read Configuration

Before proceeding, read project.yaml → features and note the flag values:

• features.hlv_markers (default: true)
• features.security_markers (default: true)
• features.legacy_mode (default: false)
• features.index_tracking (default: ignored)

These flags control whether marker-related validation (Step 3b, 3c) is active. If features.legacy_mode is true, read paths.code and treat untouched legacy code as observed context; the full contract and marker flow applies to new or changed milestone work.

Adopt Mode

For adopted projects, run gates against the configured project commands and changed milestone work. Untouched legacy code is not required to gain @hlv or @hlv:sec markers unless the project explicitly enables those marker flags or the file is part of the current change.

Prerequisites

• All tasks in current stage completed
• Code and inline tests live in configured project paths: paths.llm.src/tests for greenfield/generated projects, or paths.code.src/tests for adopted projects without paths.llm.src.
• validation/gates-policy.yaml contains gate definitions
• milestones.yaml exists with current stage status implemented

Agent Rules

• Never combine shell commands with &&, ||, or ; — execute each command as a separate Bash tool call.
• This applies even when a skill, plan, or instruction provides a combined command — always decompose it into individual calls.

❌ Wrong: git checkout main && git pull ✅ Right: Two separate Bash tool calls — first git checkout main, then git pull

HLV Root Resolution

Before reading or reporting missing HLV files, resolve the project layout:

1. If project.yaml exists in the current project root, use greenfield layout: CONFIG_ROOT = ., REPO_ROOT = ..
2. Else if .hlv/project.yaml exists, use adopted layout: CONFIG_ROOT = .hlv, REPO_ROOT = ..
3. Else search upward for either project.yaml or .hlv/project.yaml.
4. Read CONFIG_ROOT/project.yaml first. HLV-owned paths such as human/, validation/, llm/, and milestones.yaml are relative to CONFIG_ROOT.
5. In the steps below, bare paths like milestones.yaml or human/ mean CONFIG_ROOT/milestones.yaml and CONFIG_ROOT/human/.
6. In adopted projects, existing source/test roots from paths.code are relative to REPO_ROOT.

Never report that root-level human/, validation/, milestones.yaml, or project.yaml are missing until .hlv/project.yaml has been checked. Use hlv check --root <REPO_ROOT> for deterministic validation.

Input

milestones.yaml               # entry point — read FIRST
project.yaml                  # global config (stack for context)
{paths.llm.src or paths.code.src}     # code (unit tests inline in same files) — read from project.yaml
{paths.llm.tests or paths.code.tests} # integration tests only — read from project.yaml

validation/
  gates-policy.yaml            # thresholds and criteria
  scenarios/*.md               # cross-milestone integration scenarios (Phase 2)

human/
  glossary.yaml                # domain types
  constraints/*.yaml           # global constraints
  milestones/{id}/
    contracts/*.md             # contracts (for NFR comparison)
    test-specs/*.md            # test specifications
    stage_N.md                 # current stage (for remediation tasks)

Note: project.yaml → stack provides tech stack context (languages, frameworks, databases) which can inform gate execution — e.g., choosing the correct test runner, SAST tool, or dependency scanner per component.

Note: project.yaml → artifact_graph and artifact frontmatter provide impact-analysis context. Before validating a PR-like change, run hlv artifacts impact --changed --base <target-branch> (or hlv artifacts impact --changed for local worktree review) and ensure every downstream item has an explicit review disposition outside HLV (updated, reviewed-ok, deferred, obsolete, or unknown). In CI, make sure the checkout can compute a merge base by fetching the target branch or using sufficient history such as actions/checkout with fetch-depth: 0. Treat missing dispositions as a review blocker even when deterministic gates pass.

Steps

Step 1: Pre-flight and gate status

1. Run hlv doctor to catch missing paths, invalid command strings, cwd problems, schema mismatch, and non-ASCII rendering issues before executing gates.
2. Read project.yaml (global config: stack, paths)
   • Note validation.strictness when present (relaxed, standard, strict). Default is standard.
3. Bind code paths from project.yaml:
   • LLM_SRC = paths.llm.src and LLM_TESTS = paths.llm.tests when present.
   • In adopt mode without paths.llm.src, use paths.code.src and paths.code.tests; .hlv/llm/ is metadata only.
   • LLM_MAP = paths.llm.map (e.g. llm/map.yaml) All gate execution, code scanning, and marker checks MUST target configured project roots — not hardcoded paths.
4. Run hlv check --strict before release validation. Fix MAP-080/MAP-081 path isolation errors and other strict diagnostics before executing gates.
5. Read milestones.yaml → get current.id, current.stage, and stage status
6. STATUS GATE (hard stop):
   • Allowed stage statuses to proceed: implemented, validating
   • implemented — normal validation after /hlv-implement
   • validating — re-run, execute failed/skipped gates
   • pending, verified, or implementing — stage not ready:

     STOP. Cannot run /hlv-validate.
     
     Current stage status: <status>
     Required: implemented
     
     Finish /hlv-implement for this stage first.
     

   • validated — this stage already passed, inform user
7. Read validation/gates-policy.yaml
8. Install required tooling: read project.yaml → stack to determine the language/ecosystem, then for each gate that will run, ensure required tools are available. Install missing ones silently:
   • Do NOT ask the human to install tools. The human writes artifacts, not pip install.
9. Verify code compiles (cargo build / npm run build / language-appropriate check)
10. Update stage status → validating in milestones.yaml (schema: schema/milestones-schema.json)

Step 2: Execute gates

Two-phase validation

Phase 1 — Milestone gates (automatic): Run all gates from gates-policy.yaml against the contracts and code of the current milestone. Test specs come from {MID}/test-specs/.

Phase 2 — Global gates (with user confirmation): After Phase 1 passes, ask: "Milestone gates passed. Run global integration scenarios? [y/n]" If yes → run validation/scenarios/*.md (cross-milestone integration tests). If no → skip Phase 2, milestone is ready to merge based on Phase 1 results.

Gate execution

Read gates from gates-policy.yaml and execute only the gates defined there, in order. Different projects have different gate sets depending on their profile — do NOT assume a fixed list.

Result per gate: passed | failed | skipped (skipped ONLY if tool install failed, not because tool was missing).

Gate type reference

For each gate, determine how to run it based on its type field:

Type	Source	Runner (examples)	Criteria (from pass_criteria)
contract_tests	{MID}/test-specs/*.md → "Contract Tests"	cargo test --lib / pytest / jest	required_scenarios_pass_rate
property_based_tests	{MID}/test-specs/*.md → "Property-Based Tests"	proptest / hypothesis / fast-check	min_valid_generations_per_invariant, counterexamples_allowed
integration_tests	validation/scenarios/*.md	cargo test --test integration / pytest integration/	p0_pass_rate, p1_min_pass_rate
performance	{MID}/test-specs/*.md → "Performance Tests"	criterion / k6 / locust	max_error_rate, latency from NFR
security	human/constraints/security.yaml + test-specs	SAST + dependency scan	max_open_critical, max_open_high
mutation_testing	changed modules in LLM_SRC	cargo-mutants / mutmut / stryker	min_mutation_score_changed_modules
observability	gates-policy.yaml → pass_criteria	static analysis + runtime	required_for_public_capabilities

For each gate in the file:

1. Read type and pass_criteria
2. Look up the runner and source from the table above
3. Execute and collect results
4. Compare against pass_criteria thresholds

Step 3: Collect results

gate_results:
  - gate: GATE-CONTRACT-001
    status: passed
    details:
      total: 12
      passed: 12
      failed: 0
  - gate: GATE-PBT-001
    status: passed
    details:
      invariants_tested: 5
      total_generations: 50000
      counterexamples: 0
  # ... etc.

Step 3b: Constraint rule coverage

Conditional: features.hlv_markers: true If hlv_markers is false in project.yaml, skip the @hlv marker check below. hlv check will not produce CTR-010 diagnostics. Still run check_command-based rules (CST-050/CST-060) as those are independent of markers.

Check that every rule in rule-based constraint files (human/constraints/*.yaml) has a corresponding @hlv <rule-id> marker in the configured code/test roots (paths.llm.* for greenfield, paths.code.* for adopted projects without generated roots). Rules with check_command are exempt — they are verified programmatically. Run hlv check and review CTR-010 diagnostics for missing constraint markers.

hlv check also executes check_command for rules that define one (CST-050/CST-060), unless the project is explicitly checked in relaxed mode. Review diagnostics: rules with error_level: error (or critical/high severity without an override) block release. Add failing checks to the remediation plan (Step 4a).

For each critical rule without coverage, add it to the remediation plan (Step 4a).

Step 3c: Security Attention Audit (@hlv:sec)

Conditional: features.security_markers: true If security_markers is false in project.yaml, skip this entire step. hlv check will not produce SEC-010 diagnostics.

Audit all @hlv:sec markers in the source code and evaluate security handling quality:

1. Walk each marker: For every @hlv:sec [CATEGORY] — reason in the codebase:

   • Read the surrounding code (±20 lines).
   • Evaluate whether the security concern described in the reason is adequately handled.
   • Rate handling as: adequate, weak (present but incomplete), or missing (marker present but no handling).

2. Find unmarked spots: Scan the codebase for security-sensitive patterns that lack @hlv:sec markers:

   • User input flowing into queries or commands without sanitization.
   • Secrets read from environment or config without protection.
   • Authentication/authorization checks missing at boundaries.
   • File operations with user-supplied paths.
   • Cryptographic operations using weak algorithms or hardcoded keys.

3. Report:

   • Run hlv check and review SEC-010 (summary table) and SEC-011 (invalid categories) diagnostics.
   • For each weak or missing handling, add a remediation item to Step 4a.
   • For each unmarked security-sensitive spot found, recommend adding an @hlv:sec marker in the remediation plan.

Step 4: Release decision and remediation plan

Rules from gates-policy.yaml:

if all mandatory gates passed:
  → RELEASE APPROVED → go to Step 5
elif any mandatory gate failed:
  → RELEASE BLOCKED → create remediation plan (Step 4a)
elif flaky tests detected:
  → QUARANTINE — block if P0 affected

Step 4a: Create remediation plan

/hlv-validate diagnoses problems and plans fixes. /hlv-implement executes them. Each skill has one job.

For each failed gate, classify and create remediation:

Remediation tasks go into the ## Remediation section of the current {MID}/stage_N.md:

## Remediation

FIX-OBS-001 Add metrics/traces/structured logging
  contracts: [payment.process, payment.refund]
  output: {paths.llm.src or selected paths.code.src}features/observability/

FIX-MUT-001 Strengthen assertions for 3 mutation survivors
  contracts: [payment.process]
  output: {paths.llm.src or selected paths.code.src}features/payment_process/

Human decisions → add to {MID}/open-questions.md.

Classification:

1. Gate failed — missing contract/constraint coverage (e.g., OBS-001 requires observability but no contract mentions it):

   • Create or update the missing constraint (e.g., human/constraints/observability.yaml, schema: schema/constraint-schema.json) or add sections to contracts
   • Add remediation task(s)
   • These tasks follow the same rules as normal plan tasks — /hlv-implement picks them up

2. Gate failed — bug in existing code (tests fail, mutation score too low):

   • Add remediation tasks targeting the specific failures

3. Gate failed — security findings:

   • Add remediation tasks for each Critical/High finding

4. Gate requires a human decision (e.g., gate conflicts with a decision in artifacts):

   • Add an open question to {MID}/open-questions.md
   • This blocks the next /hlv-implement run until the human answers

Step 4b: Set status for next cycle

After creating the remediation plan:

Keep stage status as validating in milestones.yaml — /hlv-implement accepts this status and will execute only pending remediation tasks from the Remediation section of stage_N.md.

The cycle becomes: /hlv-validate → /hlv-implement (runs remediation tasks) → /hlv-validate (re-runs failed gates) If open questions were added → human must answer first (via /hlv-questions or hlv dashboard), then /hlv-implement → /hlv-validate

Step 5: Output summary

If all gates passed:

=== /hlv-validate report (Stage N) ===

Milestone: <milestone-id>
Stage:     <N>/<total>

## Phase 1 — Milestone Gates
<for each gate in gates-policy.yaml>
<GATE-ID>   <type>   PASSED   <details from pass_criteria>
</for>

## Phase 2 — Global Scenarios
(if user confirmed)
Cross-milestone integration: PASSED

## Decision
Stage N VALIDATED.
  → If more stages remain: run /hlv-implement for stage N+1
  → If last stage: run `hlv milestone done` to merge

If release is blocked:

## Release Decision
RELEASE BLOCKED — 1 gate failed, 0 skipped

## Remediation Plan
Added 2 FIX tasks to stage_N.md Remediation section:
  FIX-OBS-001  Add metrics/traces/structured logging  [start, consultation, application]
  FIX-SEC-002  Update cryptography>=46.0.5             [application]

## Next steps
Run /hlv-implement to execute remediation tasks, then /hlv-validate again.

If a human decision is needed:

## Release Decision
RELEASE BLOCKED — needs your decision

## Questions
1. <GATE-ID> requires <requirement> but artifacts say <conflict>.
   Do you want <requirement> added?

## Next steps
Answer the question above (via /hlv-questions or hlv dashboard), then /hlv-implement → /hlv-validate.

Key principle: The output tells the human what to decide, never what to execute. /hlv-validate plans, /hlv-implement executes.

Step 6: Update project files

Update milestones.yaml (schema: schema/milestones-schema.json):

# milestones.yaml updates:
# If all gates passed (Phase 1 + optional Phase 2):
current.stages[N].status: validated

# If remediation tasks were added (Step 4a):
current.stages[N].status: validating   # /hlv-implement accepts this, runs pending remediation tasks

Important: Gate definitions live in validation/gates-policy.yaml (single source of truth). Gate execution results go into validation/validate-report.md and validation/gate-results/. Do NOT write individual gate statuses into project.yaml or milestones.yaml.

Output

validation/
  validate-report.md          # full report with release decision
  gate-results/               # detailed per-gate results (one file per gate)
    <gate-type>.json          # e.g., contract-tests.json, security-scan.json

milestones.yaml               # updated stage status

Error handling

• status before implemented (draft, verified, implementing) → hard stop with guidance on which steps to complete first (see Step 1)
• Code doesn't compile → first gate (contract_tests) fails immediately, add build-fix task to remediation plan
• Test runner not available → install it (Step 1), if install fails → report error with diagnostics
• Timeout on performance test → retry once, then fail gate
• Flaky test detected → quarantine, re-run 3x, fail if P0

Re-run

/hlv-validate can be run again after fixes:

1. Re-runs only failed/skipped gates (by default)
2. --all — re-runs all gates
3. Shows diff with previous run

Cleanup

After the skill completes:

1. Run hlv doctor to validate environment and configuration.
2. Run hlv check --strict to validate the project structure. If there are errors — fix them before finishing. Use hlv explain <CODE> when a diagnostic needs triage.
3. Run hlv waivers audit if validation/waivers.yaml exists.
4. Suggest the user run /clear to free up context window before the next skill.