backlog(B-0110,P1): AceHack mirror-refresh protocol drift — three sources contradict

docs/backlog/P1/B-0110-acehack-mirror-protocol-drift-2026-04-30.md

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+---
+id: B-0110
+priority: P1
+status: open
+title: AceHack mirror-refresh protocol drift — three sources, three different shapes (Aaron + Amara 2026-04-30)
+tier: drift-resolution
+effort: S
+ask: Maintainer decision required — three sources contradict on AceHack mirror-refresh shape; no autonomous resolution per host-mutation receipt discipline
+created: 2026-04-30
+last_updated: 2026-04-30
+composes_with: [B-0109]
+tags: [doctrine-drift, acehack, mirror-refresh, branch-protection, host-vs-doctrine, urgent-when-mirror-needed]
+---
+
+# AceHack mirror-refresh protocol drift
+
+Three sources currently disagree on how to refresh AceHack/Zeta
+main from LFG/Zeta main. Surfaced 2026-04-30 when Aaron asked
+for a mirror-refresh and the force-with-lease push was rejected
+by AceHack's branch protection. Filed per Amara's discipline
+that drift not be parked only on the maintainer's chat history.
+
+## The three sources
+
+### CLAUDE.md (current text)
+
+> *"AceHack = dev-mirror fork; LFG = project-trunk fork."*
+>
+> *"AceHack main re-mirrors LFG main at the close of every
+> paired-sync round (force-push to AceHack main is part of the
+> protocol)."*
+>
+> *"Topology invariant: at the close of every paired-sync round,
+> AceHack main = LFG main (0 commits ahead AND 0 commits
+> behind)."*
+
+CLAUDE.md asserts force-push is the protocol AND that 0/0/0 is
+the maintained invariant.
+
+### `memory/feedback_lfg_only_development_flow_acehack_is_mirror_aaron_amara_2026_04_29.md`
+
+> *"LFG is the factory. AceHack is the mirror."*
+>
+> *"Stop optimizing the fork topology. We are LFG-first now.
+> Mirror AceHack daily and move on."* — Amara 2026-04-29
+>
+> Daily AceHack sync policy:
+>
+> - Once per day, sync AceHack/main to LFG/main.
+> - Preferred path: fast-forward AceHack/main to LFG/main.
+> - If AceHack/main has diverged, hard-reset to LFG/main after
+>   recording the pre-reset SHA.
+> - No Aaron approval needed for routine daily mirror sync
+>   (this policy is the consent).
+
+This 2026-04-29 memory says: daily mirror sync, preferred
+fast-forward, hard-reset if diverged, routine consent.
+
+### AceHack host configuration (verified 2026-04-30T11:46Z)
+
+`gh api repos/AceHack/Zeta/rulesets/15524390` shows the
+"Default" ruleset includes `non_fast_forward` rule with
+`bypass_actors: []`. The host blocks force-push from any
+actor, including repo admins, on the default branch.
+
+LFG ruleset 15256879 has identical `non_fast_forward` +
+`bypass_actors: []` shape, intentional uniformity.
+
+## What the drift produces operationally
+
+When `acehack/main` has diverged from `lfg/main` (which is the
+expected post-double-hop residue, e.g., the current 1-commit
+divergence at `0a1db1a`), the three sources prescribe three
+different actions:
+
+- **CLAUDE.md**: force-push LFG main → AceHack main. **Blocked
+  by host.**
+- **LFG-only memory (2026-04-29)**: hard-reset AceHack/main to
+  LFG/main. Hard-reset on the server-side is also force-push.
+  **Blocked by host.**
+- **AceHack ruleset**: open a PR with linear-history,
+  required-conversation-resolution, squash-only merge.
+  Cannot resolve a non-fast-forward via PR (the 1-commit
+  divergence makes it non-FF, and `required_linear_history`
+  blocks merge commits).
+
+So the actual operation has no clean path under the current
+host config. The reset on 2026-04-29 (visible as the
+`archive/acehack-main-pre-000-reset-2026-04-29` branch) must
+have happened either through a temporary ruleset relaxation
+or as a post-hoc archive marker — that history is itself
+worth recovering as part of resolving this drift.
+
+## Decision needed (maintainer call)
+
+One of the three:
+
+1. **Add a bypass actor to AceHack ruleset 15524390** — restore
+   force-push capability scoped to a specific actor (repo
+   admin or named bypass). Smallest host mutation; aligns host
+   with doctrine. Files a host-mutation receipt per the
+   receipt discipline.
+2. **Update CLAUDE.md and the LFG-only memory to a PR-based
+   mirror protocol** — accept the host as canonical,
+   adjust doctrine to a PR-shape that doesn't require
+   force-push (e.g., a "sentinel PR" pattern that resets
+   AceHack via a series of PRs, OR explicit acceptance that
+   AceHack will diverge until a manual maintainer reset).
+3. **Accept current divergence indefinitely** — pause the 0/0/0
+   invariant entirely. Document this as the post-2026-04-29
+   reality. AceHack becomes a distant-cousin mirror, not a
+   mathematically-equal one.
+
+I'd lean toward **(1)** because it's the smallest mutation
+that aligns host with doctrine and preserves the LFG-only
+memory's daily-sync semantics. But the host-mutation receipt
+discipline (`memory/feedback_host_mutation_receipt_2026_04_29_ruleset_15256879_code_quality_removed.md`)
+explicitly says *"do NOT broaden `gh api ... rulesets/PUT`
+permission"* — so this is exactly the maintainer-decision
+class of mutation, not the autonomous-action class.
+
+## Out of scope for this row
+
+- Implementing the chosen path. Implementation lands as a
+  separate row + receipt once the maintainer decides.
+- Routine mirror-refresh attempts. Until decision, the mirror
+  stays where it is; the daily-sync clause from the LFG-only
+  memory cannot fire because the host blocks the only known
+  mechanism.
+- Modifying the AceHack ruleset autonomously. Per the
+  host-mutation receipt rule, ruleset PUTs need explicit
+  authorization beyond the standing branch-protection-is-agent-call
+  rule (which covers settings management, not bypass-actor
+  definitions for force-push protections).
+
+## Composes with
+
+- **B-0109** — dependency-status surface. AceHack mirror-refresh
+  is a sub-case of "dependencies we depend on for canonical
+  factory state"; the drift here is doctrine-vs-host, parallel
+  to the GitHub-incident class B-0109 covers.
+- `memory/feedback_lfg_only_development_flow_acehack_is_mirror_aaron_amara_2026_04_29.md`
+  — the 2026-04-29 framing this row references.
+- `memory/feedback_host_mutation_receipt_2026_04_29_ruleset_15256879_code_quality_removed.md`
+  — the ruleset-mutation receipt discipline that gates path (1).
+- `memory/feedback_branch_protection_settings_are_agent_call_external_contribution_ready_2026_04_23.md`
+  — the standing agent-decision authority on branch
+  protection. Bypass-actor changes for force-push protections
+  fall outside this standing authority because they affect
+  destructive-operation gating.
+- CLAUDE.md AceHack-LFG topology section — currently
+  out of date with respect to the LFG-only directive; will
+  need a paired edit once this row resolves.
+
+## Origin
+
+Aaron 2026-04-30 (autonomous-loop maintainer channel):
+
+> can you refresh the acehack mirror whenever you get a
+> minute, this is our first time i think so might need a
+> force push, i know our rules say something softer but up
+> to you
+
+Followed by:
+
+> force-push-to-AceHack-main i think amara said force push
+> lease is better becasue then you know if something
+> accidently changed next time you update
+
+Attempt: `git push --force-with-lease=main:0a1db1a acehack
+origin/main:main`. Result: rejected by ruleset
+`non_fast_forward` rule with no bypass actors.
+
+Amara 2026-04-30 review:
+
+> AceHack mirror drift should not stay parked only on Aaron.
+> [...] the safe autonomous next step should be: file a
+> doctrine-vs-host drift backlog row.
+
+This row is that filing.