docs: make proactive convergence part of the instruction core

[seathatflowsinourveins]

Scope

Carry the owner's directly approved fourth rule into every live instruction surface. Requests become a starting point for evidence-based related improvements, with timing that preserves the current focus and protected windows. The exact approved text replaces the previous fourth bullet across six instruction files and the maintained top-rule decision quotations.

• Base: eb5fee4db9a494729deb29bdf38dbabac23ee643.
• Head: efd6b717f066f20c77fe604a37932c3adee6d8e4.
• Lane: lane:shared; the shared core applies to both lanes, with the other lane's acknowledgement pending before any landing.
• Authority: owner-selected "Tightened" option, CC task-ns2604-coop-20261008T134651Z.
• Owned changes: six rule surfaces, the top-rule decision record, two pinned test modules and the evidence registry. The final commit contains both shared hot files, AGENTS.md and manifests/evidence.json.
• Exactly one PR; landing and the host F9/fresh-session steps remain on the command center's cue through 5f.

SOTA sources

• ECC search-first@2b6e839771e53096d8451a213d40dc64ec8acac0, Workflow and Decision Matrix; reuse existing carriers, renderer and tests.
• Claude Code best practices and memory/rule organization, fetched October 8: broadly applicable rules load every session and stay concise. Failure patterns support preserving focus.
• Official OpenAI documentation: Codex AGENTS.md loading, fetched October 8; installed codex-cli 0.161.0 and reviewed openai/codex rust-v0.161.0 loader.
• Existing supported integration at preparation base: tools/adoption/new_wsl_client_config.py F9, scripts/host_receipts.py:register_file(root,relative_path), and the existing test helpers template_segments()/startup_files().
• Historical evidence references: docs/decisions/2026-10-07-instruction-core.md and docs/decisions/2026-09-25-model-fallback-guard.md:105–115,166–175. The October 7 record cites the September StructuredOutput comparison; it is not a new October 7 run or an experiment on this bullet.

Evidence-class table

Claim	Evidence class	Observation
Exact approved wording on all six live instruction files	local_integration	Native text/pin/budget tests; independent source/diff review
Full search census and untouched historical artifacts	source_review + local_integration	All 11,538 tracked files searched: 33 matching files / 93 lines; all 25 historical files byte-equal to the base
New core behavior matches owner direction	Owner policy decision	Exact tightened text and four dated owner excerpts in the amendment
Historical 5/30 vs0/30 schema errors	Historical reported native result	Sonnet 5 / Claude Code 2.1.282; primary untracked captures were not independently re-read here
New bullet improves adherence or is loaded in fresh sessions	Pending	No new model trial, host render or fresh-session check in this PR

Complete surface census

The maintained files are AGENTS.md, adoption/scaffold/AGENTS.md, adoption/templates/codex.AGENTS.template.md, adoption/new-wsl/codex-user-instructions.md, adoption/new-wsl/claude-user-instructions.md, examples/claude-native/CLAUDE.md, and docs/decisions/2026-09-28-top-rule-templates.md. Thus surfaces=7: six instruction files plus the decision record. The searched test literal is tests/test_install_claude_profile.py; tests/test_codex_worker_lane.py changes its hash/budget-related expectation.

The amendment's full census names every matching file. These 25 historical evidence files were searched and are untouched:

• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/adjudication/attempt2/adjudication-inputs/x5.AB.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/adjudication/attempt2/adjudication-inputs/x5.BA.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/adjudication/attempt2/judge-actions.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/adjudication/attempt2/packets/x5.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/adjudication/attempt2/prompts/judge-AB.txt
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/adjudication/attempt2/prompts/judge-BA.txt
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/final/adjudication/adjudication-inputs/x5c.AB.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/final/adjudication/adjudication-inputs/x5c.BA.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/final/adjudication/amendment.diff
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/final/adjudication/gpt6.BA.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/final/adjudication/packets/x5c.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/final/adjudication/prompts/judge-AB.txt
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/final/adjudication/prompts/judge-BA.txt
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/final/claude.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/final/packets/packet.md
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/final/prompts/gpt6-prompt.txt
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/final/proposal.diff
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/final/tally-final.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/round1/claude-brief.txt
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/round1/claude.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/round1/gpt6-prompt.txt
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/round1/gpt6.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/round1/packet.md
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/round1/proposals.json
• evidence/artifacts/prompt-audit-20260927/lane-a/round1/user-level-top-rule.txt

The three decision quotations are labelled amended projections; the original executed bytes, measurements and adjudications remain in those frozen files.

Changed expectations, test by test

The dated declaration records exact test IDs, old/new values and classification, following the CC's #845 rule.

Test	Change
StandingRuleSurfacesTests.test_the_portable_block_is_exactly_the_core_and_the_evidence_backed_line	CORE takes the exact new bullet; 1,262 → 1,486 bytes
StandingRuleSurfacesTests.test_every_layer_carries_the_same_core_and_no_dropped_rule	Same exact core across all six layers; once-only/exclusion conditions retained
StandingRuleSurfacesTests.test_the_repository_file_keeps_its_core_and_the_trading_prerequisite	Same required core prefix; trading prerequisite retained
TemplateTests.test_top_rule_is_pinned_and_rendered_rtk_is_the_unchanged_pinned_source	TOP_RULE_SHA256:2618406a…c91fb62→bc9f3138…bd2aae7; RTK bytes/pin retained
PortableTopRuleTests.test_rendered_startup_files_fit_each_clients_fixed_byte_budget	Claude 4,140 → 4,610; Codex 4,246 → 4,716 bytes, same 105% procedure
PortableTopRuleTests.test_growth_in_any_loaded_file_crosses_the_fixed_budget	Same ceilings; negative growth condition retained
TemplateTests.test_agents_template_is_one_managed_block	Comment-only measured size 2,105 → 2,329; 8,192-byte ceiling retained

No fixed word-count assertion exists in these native tests. Measured template words 286 → 323 and top-segment words 186 → 223 are recorded rather than inventing one.

Local commands run

python3 -m unittest tests.test_install_claude_profile.StandingRuleSurfacesTests tests.test_codex_worker_lane.TemplateTests tests.test_install_claude_profile.PortableTopRuleTests
# unchanged main expectations after text edits: exit 1; 32 tests, 12 expected failing subtests

python3 -m unittest tests.test_install_claude_profile tests.test_codex_worker_lane tests.test_new_wsl_client_config tests.test_scaffold_repo tests.test_managed_block
# initial integrated run: 521 tests; 506 passed, 13 skipped, 2 failed
# private-log shell mistakenly gave fixtures umask 077; the two unchanged RoleStepTests expected 0750 but got 0700

umask 022
python3 -m unittest tests.test_codex_worker_lane.RoleStepTests.test_an_existing_agents_directory_and_identical_roles_are_not_the_runs_to_remove tests.test_codex_worker_lane.RoleStepTests.test_rollback_keeps_an_agents_directory_that_existed_before_the_run
# focused corrected-environment run: 2 tests, exit 0
# same two failures reproduced with base surfaces under 077; no assertion or implementation was weakened

python3 scripts/validate.py
# exit 0: 69 components, 10,831 hashed files, 4 profiles, 228 receipts
git diff --check
# exit 0

Final per-test outcomes are 508 pass / 13 skip across 521 distinct test IDs, combining the initial run with the two focused environment corrections. This is not a claimed single full-suite green run. Original failed attempts remain retained. The corrected umask affects execution only; it introduces no repository/test exception. Command-center/5f main-version tests against this exact head remain separate.

Decision record

docs/decisions/2026-09-28-top-rule-templates.md, dated 2026-10-08 amendment: owner approval, repeated October 4/5/8 words, exact text, evidence correction, complete census, expectation declarations, alternatives, inverse and overturn conditions. Completeness review corrected an unsupported CLI spelling of register_file to the actual Python helper.

Host evidence

Pending after landing: CC runs F9 for the two user-level files, then fresh native sessions in both clients that visibly load the exact bullet. Optional promptfoo adherence A/B remains a separate api-credit-sota action. No host receipt was changed.

Checklist

• Exact owner wording and all maintained copies agree.
• Historical evidence is untouched and the whole matching set is named.
• Every changed expectation is declared; the shared hot files/registry are the final commit.
• Native existing tests and required validation are retained with their actual outcomes.
• Credential values and other owners' work are preserved; no new paid service.
• Main-version tests, other-lane acknowledgement and landing are on the command center's cue.
• F9 render and fresh-session load checks occur after landing.