docs(verification): compaction/context regression investigation and fixes

.agents/skills/afk/SKILL.md

@@ -135,16 +135,17 @@ The daemon still clears its buffer only on the backend's `empty` success verdict
 The daemon wraps `fm-watch.sh`, runs the watcher as a child, presents every durable wake after each actionable watcher close, classifies each presented record in bash, and acknowledges the presented generation only after routing completes.
 It self-handles the routine majority without consuming a firstmate turn.
 Captain-relevant events, plus a bounded recheck of a declared wait that is still declared, escalate to firstmate's context as one pre-read, single-line, batched digest.
-The classification predicates (the captain-relevant verb set, declared-wait vocabulary, signal/stale tests, and fleet-scan) live in the shared `bin/fm-classify-lib.sh`, the same library the always-on watcher uses for its own triage when afk is off, so the two modes apply one identical policy.
+The captain-relevant verb set, declared-wait vocabulary, status-span classifier, and presentation-marker contract live in shared `bin/fm-classify-lib.sh`, while each supervisor owns its routing and fleet scan as a consumer of that policy.
 While `state/.afk` exists the daemon owns the watcher, so the watcher reverts to one-shot and lets the daemon do the triage - the two never run their triage at the same time.
 
 Classify each wake this way:
 
-- `signal` with a terminal captain verb (`done:`, `needs-decision:`, `blocked:`, or `failed:`) -> escalate.
+- `signal` whose newly classified status span contains captain-relevant events -> escalate every event in source order.
   A nonterminal progress verb remains nonterminal even when its prose contains a legacy free-text token such as `PR ready`, `checks green`, `ready in branch`, or `merged`; only a bare legacy line with such a token escalates.
-  Other signals with no captain-relevant status -> self-handle.
-- `signal` or `stale` for a declared wait, either a `paused:` external wait or a verified `captain-held` transfer -> self-handle and track the pause rather than a wedge, whether its pane reads idle or busy.
-  That outranks an enriched possible-wedge reason, so a declared wait never escalates on the `FM_STALE_ESCALATE_SECS` cadence.
+  Other signals with no captain-relevant event in the span -> self-handle.
+- `signal` or `stale` whose latest status declares a wait, either a `paused:` external wait or a verified `captain-held` transfer, tracks the pause rather than a wedge whether its pane reads idle or busy.
+  An unreported captain-relevant event in the newly classified span still escalates immediately while the current declaration independently keeps the pause cadence.
+  With no unreported actionable event, the wake self-handles, and the current declaration outranks an enriched possible-wedge reason so it never escalates on the `FM_STALE_ESCALATE_SECS` cadence.
   If it is still declared past `FM_PAUSE_RESURFACE_SECS` (default 3600s), housekeeping sends one recheck and resets the pause window.
   The window ages against the crew's own latest status line, so only a status append that stops declaring the wait ends this routing and restores wedge detection.
   That recheck names which human the wait is on: the external dependency for `paused:`, and the captain themself for a `captain-held` transfer, who can answer the held decision or release the hold.
@@ -154,10 +155,9 @@ Classify each wake this way:
   If the pane is still idle past `FM_STALE_ESCALATE_SECS` (default 240s), housekeeping escalates it as a possible wedge.
   This bounds wedge-detection latency to the threshold plus a tick: a delay, never a loss.
   Healthy crewmates are autonomous and do not wait on firstmate mid-task.
-- `heartbeat` -> self-handle. The daemon runs its own cheap bash fleet scan
-  every `FM_HEARTBEAT_SCAN_SECS` (default 300s) as the catch-all for a
-  captain-relevant status line the per-wake classifier might miss.
-- Unknown reason, or any uncertainty -> escalate fail-safe.
+- `heartbeat` -> self-handle.
+  The daemon runs its own cheap bash fleet scan every `FM_HEARTBEAT_SCAN_SECS` (default 300s) as the catch-all for captain-relevant events still unread by the per-wake classifier.
+- An unknown wake reason escalates fail-safe, while status-read uncertainty follows the shared one-report-without-position-advance contract referenced under Dedupe below.
 
 Escalations are buffered up to `FM_ESCALATE_BATCH_SECS` (default 90s; 0 =
 immediate) and flushed as one single-line digest prefixed with the current
@@ -199,8 +199,8 @@ the operational prefix lets firstmate distinguish it from a real captain message
   text firstmate sees is clean.
 - **Portable singleton lock** - the daemon uses the repo's portable lock helper
   (`fm-wake-lib.sh`) instead of `flock`, which is absent on macOS.
-- **Dedupe across signal/stale/scan** - `classify_signal` and terminal `classify_stale` paths check the seen-status marker before escalating, so a captain-relevant status escalated by one path is not re-escalated by another in the same digest.
-  The marker does not clear or suppress possible-wedge aging for a nonterminal progress line.
+- **Dedupe across signal/stale/scan** - all three paths use the shared status presentation markers defined by `bin/fm-classify-lib.sh`, so a successfully classified span is not re-escalated by another path in the same digest.
+  Never treat a reported unreadable state as classified; the shared library header owns that marker contract, and the marker does not clear or suppress possible-wedge aging for a nonterminal progress line.
 - **Auto-discovered supervisor pane** - the daemon resolves its own BACKEND
   (tmux vs herdr) and TARGET independently, mirroring
   `bin/fm-backend.sh`'s own runtime auto-detection. Backend: `FM_SUPERVISOR_BACKEND`

.agents/skills/bearings/SKILL.md

@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ Generate a complete current snapshot from the fleet's current state, so the capt
 Plain `/bearings` returns only the concise four-section chat digest.
 Only `/bearings file` writes the dated markdown report artifact and then returns the concise four-section chat digest linked to that report.
 Only `/bearings lavish` builds the interactive fleet board beside that digest, through `bin/fm-bearings-board.sh` (its header owns every board mechanic and the fm-bearings-board.v1 payload contract).
-A digest/build invocation is operationally read-only apart from the cooldown-limited reconcile instruction and its `state/<id>.reconcile-nudged` record, plus the explicit per-mode artifacts: the dated report in file mode, and in lavish mode the board file plus the answer binding and source registration that `bin/fm-bearings-board.sh build` records through their own owners.
-During that invocation it never tears down a task, merges a PR, dispatches new work, steers a worker except through that reconcile hook, answers a decision, cleans up work, or mutates backlog or task state beyond the reconcile record.
+A digest/build invocation is operationally read-only apart from observational remote-ledger cache refreshes, durable per-target reconcile-notify requests when the captured state needs them, plus the explicit per-mode artifacts: the dated report in file mode, and in lavish mode the board file plus the answer binding and source registration that `bin/fm-bearings-board.sh build` records through their own owners.
+During that invocation it never tears down a task, merges a PR, dispatches new work, steers a worker, answers a decision, cleans up work, or mutates backlog or task state.
 Board answers are acted on later under the normal authority rules; this skill's board-wake section explicitly owns the guarded routing at that time.
 
 ## Invocation modes
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@ Board answers are acted on later under the normal authority rules; this skill's
    It is the single bounded, deterministic fleet-state source for Bearings.
    Do not create or consult a second fleet-state reader, parser contract, status-event-tail interpretation, visible-session recap, ad-hoc project probe, or ad-hoc `gh-axi`/`gh` query.
    The command's header and `--help` output own its exact fields, bounds, opt-ins, and output contract.
-   Keep the default local-only read unless the captain asks to include PRs.
+   The default performs bounded concurrent remote-ledger reads for registered remote homes under one shared snapshot budget and may refresh the parent-side cache.
+   Only pass `--include-prs` when the captain asks for live GitHub PR enrichment.
    For registered secondmates, use the snapshot's structured-home classification and provenance.
    A parent event or bounded terminal contradiction is fallback evidence, never authority over readable structured home state.
    A decision is simply a task held for the captain (`captain-hold-lifecycle`); every due, unblocked captain-held task appears under `decisions_open`, whatever its kind.
@@ -50,13 +51,15 @@ Board answers are acted on later under the normal authority rules; this skill's
    Render it under Charted Next with the related `omitted` disclosure, never invent an Underway row from backlog-only state, and never move it into Captain's Call.
    The same holds for a secondmate home whose current state is unavailable, and for a readable home whose `invalidity` reports a backlog-vs-metadata mismatch: the mismatch is a repair notice about that home's own books, not a reason to drop its separately projected decisions, queued, landed, or live work.
 
-2. **Ask any home whose own books disagree to reconcile them.**
+2. **Record a later reconcile notification for any home whose own books disagree.**
    When the snapshot reports a secondmate home whose `invalidity` is `orphan_in_flight`, `unowned_current`, or `terminal_in_flight`, that home's backlog and its own task metadata disagree and only that home may fix it.
-   Run `printf '%s\n' "$snapshot" | bin/fm-secondmate-reconcile.sh notify --snapshot -` inline immediately after gathering the snapshot, so the durable fire-and-forget enqueue finishes before digest composition without spawning any child or second snapshot.
-   The script header owns the cooldown window, non-blocking lock skips, stale-endpoint checks, retry, and fire-and-forget delivery contract; this hook arms no reply recovery or inbox escalation.
-   If the hook reports a skip or failure, continue composing the digest from the captured snapshot; a lock skip or known-undelivered send leaves the cooldown unset for a later recap.
-   A home is asked at most once per four-hour window, so running this on every recap costs nothing and cannot nag, while a mismatch still sitting there after the window earns one gentle re-nudge.
-   Never edit another home's backlog or metadata from here, and never expect or wait on a reply: the mate acts asynchronously from its durable inbox while the digest is composed from the snapshot already in hand.
+   Run `printf '%s\n' "$snapshot" | bin/fm-secondmate-reconcile.sh request --snapshot -` immediately after gathering the snapshot.
+   This atomically records one local one-shot request per mismatched target and returns without sending, taking a mate lifecycle lock, or waiting behind a local or remote delivery queue.
+   The supervision loop later claims the requests and runs the cooldown-limited fire-and-forget deliveries; the script header owns per-target coalescing, request durability, retries, cooldown, identity checks, and retirement.
+   Continue composing the digest from the captured snapshot as soon as the local requests are recorded.
+   If local request publication fails, continue composing, report that durability blocker, and never fall back to an inline send.
+   A home is still asked at most once per four-hour window, while a skipped or failed later delivery leaves the request durable for another supervision pass.
+   Never edit another home's backlog or metadata from here, and never expect or wait on a reply.
 
 3. **Compose the four-section chat digest from the fresh snapshot.**
    The gather step is deterministic; your judgment is scoped to ranking the command's facts by what matters right now and writing scannable captain-facing prose.
@@ -135,9 +138,10 @@ Rules that keep the contract unambiguous:
 - Every section ALWAYS renders, even when empty, with its short empty-state sentence; never omit a section.
 - Every chat digest and file-mode report is a complete current snapshot, never a delta against a prior report.
 - Recently Landed always renders the bounded current baseline, even when the same completions appeared in an earlier report.
-- The four buckets are mutually exclusive, so every item is forced into exactly one: needs-your-action is Captain's Call, done is Recently Landed, self-progressing is Underway, and not-yet-started work or an action-free fleet-integrity warning is Charted Next.
+- The four buckets are mutually exclusive per item: needs-your-action is Captain's Call, done is Recently Landed, self-progressing is Underway, and not-yet-started work or an action-free fleet-integrity warning is Charted Next.
+- A secondmate home can contribute to more than one section at once. Each active child is an Underway row regardless of the home-level `bearings_state`, while that same home's due captain hold is Captain's Call and its queued or external holds stay Charted Next. Do not hide active children because the home also has an open captain hold.
 - The strict boundary keeps action-free items OUT of Captain's Call: a working or validating task, a queued item blocked on another task or a date, landed work, a completed scout's report pointer, a declared `paused:` external wait, and a bare recorded PR with no merge-ready signal each belong to one of the other three sections, never Captain's Call.
-- A secondmate's own row appears Underway only for `active_child_work`; `externally_held` belongs in Charted Next, and `unknown` belongs there as an unavailable-state gate unless its reason requires the captain's action.
+- A secondmate's own home-level row is not an Underway unit: `externally_held` belongs in Charted Next, and `unknown` belongs there as an unavailable-state gate unless its reason requires the captain's action.
 - Do not suppress separately projected decisions, landed records, or gates from a `partial-structured` home merely because that secondmate's own row is `unknown` or its `invalidity` reports an inventory mismatch.
 - Include the required direct address to the captain inside one item or empty-state sentence.
 - Every PR appears as the full `https://...` URL; a shorthand `#number` is fine only as a back-reference after the full URL has already appeared in the same digest.
@@ -155,7 +159,7 @@ Rules that keep the contract unambiguous:
 
 ## Supervision discipline
 
-During a digest/build invocation, this skill changes no fleet state beyond its reconcile instruction and cooldown record, explicit report or board artifacts, binding, and source registration.
-Do not tear down a task, merge a PR, dispatch queued work, steer a worker except through the reconcile hook, answer a queued decision, clean up work, or mutate any other `state/` or `data/` file during that invocation.
+During a digest/build invocation, this skill changes no fleet state beyond observational remote-ledger cache refreshes, durable local per-target reconcile-notify requests, explicit report or board artifacts, binding, and source registration.
+Do not tear down a task, merge a PR, dispatch queued work, steer a worker, answer a queued decision, clean up work, or mutate any other `state/` or `data/` file during that invocation.
 If the state gathered for the digest suggests an action, name it in its section and leave it to the normal lifecycle and configured authority.
 On a later board wake, this read-only invocation rule yields to "Handling a board wake" and its guarded authority for captain-selected dispatches and merges.