Harden Core public verification and claim boundaries

.github/workflows/verify.yml

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-name: Riverbraid Verification Suite
+name: Riverbraid Core Live Compatibility Check
+
 on:
   push:
     branches:
@@ -7,19 +8,23 @@ on:
     branches:
       - main
   workflow_dispatch:
+
 permissions:
   contents: read
+
 jobs:
-  verify-core:
+  verify-core-live-compatibility:
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     steps:
       - name: Checkout Riverbraid-Core
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        uses: actions/checkout@11d5960a326750d5838078e36cf38b85af677262 # v4
+
       - name: Setup Node.js
-        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        uses: actions/setup-node@49933ea5288caeca8642d1e84afbd3f7d6820020 # v4
         with:
           node-version: '20.11.0'
-      - name: Clone Ring 0 sibling repositories
+
+      - name: Clone current Ring 0 sibling default branches
         shell: bash
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
@@ -30,15 +35,19 @@ jobs:
             Riverbraid-Integrity-Floors \
             Riverbraid-Types
           do
-            echo "Cloning $repo"
+            echo "Cloning current default branch for live compatibility: $repo"
             git clone --depth 1 "https://github.com/Riverbraid/${repo}.git" "$repo"
           done
-          echo "RING0_SIBLINGS_CLONED"
-      - name: Run compatibility audit
+          echo "RING0_LIVE_COMPATIBILITY_SIBLINGS_CLONED"
+
+      - name: Run live compatibility audit
         shell: bash
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           node audit_final.js
           node constellation-audit.mjs --ring 0
-      - name: Final status
-        run: echo "RIVERBRAID_CORE_RING0_CI_OK"
+
+      - name: Final bounded status
+        run: |
+          echo "RIVERBRAID_CORE_LIVE_COMPATIBILITY_OK"
+          echo "This workflow is a mutable-default-branch compatibility check, not the pinned Evaluation Kit reproduction surface."

AUTHORITY.md

@@ -1,19 +1,46 @@
 # Riverbraid-Core Authority
-Ring: 0
-Role: Proposed Phase 15 trust anchor
-Status: CLASSIFIED
+
+Repository Ring: 0 — normative protocol authority
+Dependent Compatibility Gate: Ring 2 for coupling-sensitive Core changes
+Role: Core audit substrate and protocol trust anchor
+Status: CORE_AUDIT_SURFACE
+
+## Ring and phase vocabulary
+
+`Ring 0` identifies this repository's authority role in the current cluster manifest.
+
+A required `Ring 2` pass means that a coupling-sensitive Core change must also be checked against the declared Ring 2 infrastructure set. It does not reclassify Riverbraid-Core as a Ring 2 repository.
+
+`Proposed Phase 15` is a historical implementation label and is not current authority vocabulary. Current public descriptions must use the repository role, ring relationship, verification surface, and claim boundary defined here and in `VOCABULARY_LOCK.md`.
+
 ## Claim Boundary
-This repository participates in the proposed Phase 15 Ring 0 trust anchor layer.
-This file does not claim full constellation verification.
-This repository may only claim VERIFIED after its local verifier produces verify-output.json with status VERIFIED.
+
+Riverbraid-Core is the normative protocol authority and deterministic integrity-audit substrate for the declared Riverbraid governance floor.
+
+This repository may claim `VERIFIED` only for an exact source-bound run whose declared verifier produces the required result and whose evidence remains attributable to the observed commit, configuration, environment, and claim boundary.
+
+A repository file, manifest entry, generated summary, or machine-readable claim declaration does not become verification evidence merely because it exists.
+
 ## Refused Claims
+
 This repository does not claim:
+
 - production readiness
-- legal compliance
+- legal compliance or legal approval
 - universal safety
-- absolute truth
+- absolute truth or absolute security
+- external audit or independent review
+- complete AI safety
 - full constellation verification
-- downstream ring verification
+- downstream ring verification by association
+- registry freshness
+- adoption
+- absence of defects
+
 ## Mechanical Honesty Rule
+
 File presence is not verification.
-Verification requires a real verifier output.
+
+Verification requires a real verifier result plus the source, configuration, environment, and evidence relationships needed to interpret that result.
+
+The public reproduction and evaluation entrance is `Riverbraid/Riverbraid-Evaluation-Kit`. Riverbraid-Core remains the normative protocol authority; it is not the public reproduction kit.

README.md

@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 # Riverbraid-Core
 
+> Public evaluation starts at [Riverbraid-Evaluation-Kit](https://github.com/Riverbraid/Riverbraid-Evaluation-Kit). This repository is the normative protocol authority and audit substrate; it is not the public reproduction kit.
+
 > Status: CORE_AUDIT_SURFACE
-> Ring Role: Core / normative protocol authority
+> Repository Ring: 0 — normative protocol authority
+> Dependent Compatibility Gate: Ring 2 for coupling-sensitive Core changes
 > Claim Boundary: deterministic integrity floor, byte audit, and ring governance only
 
 Riverbraid-Core is a deterministic integrity floor for the Riverbraid architecture.
@@ -16,25 +19,30 @@ Riverbraid-Core is a canonical protocol authority surface within Riverbraid.
 
 This repository is part of the current Evaluation Kit canonical verification registry and defines core protocol authority and audit behavior for Riverbraid.
 
+The Evaluation Kit is the public reproduction and evaluation entrance. Core exposes the normative rules and bounded local audit commands that the public profile references.
+
 ## Evidence boundary
 
 This repository does not claim certification, legal approval, production readiness, absolute security, external audit, complete AI safety, adoption, registry freshness, or absence of defects.
 
+The machine-readable declaration in `claim-ceiling.json` is a claim-boundary artifact, not execution evidence. Its exact applicability is bound only when the containing commit and artifact digest are observed by an audit packet.
+
 ## Canonical One-Liner
 
 Riverbraid is an open-source deterministic integrity floor for AI governance: a fail-closed, byte-auditable architecture that makes structure, authority, and drift visible. Its broader research directions, including mathematical physics of cognition, memory-flow-truth braiding, and intent-aware compute, remain experimental surfaces built on top of this bounded floor.
 
 ## Core Function
 
 Riverbraid-Core provides:
-* Ring classification and constellation audit
-* Required file surface verification
-* Byte-level audit of tracked repository files
-* BOM detection for text surfaces
-* Dirty worktree detection
-* Verification output validation
-* Audit manifest generation
-* Append-only audit trail recording
+
+- Ring classification and constellation audit
+- Required file surface verification
+- Byte-level audit of tracked repository files
+- BOM detection for text surfaces
+- Dirty worktree detection
+- Verification output validation
+- Audit manifest generation
+- Append-only audit trail recording
 
 ## Authority Boundary
 
@@ -44,27 +52,49 @@ It defines the audit substrate and verification rules. It does not implement dom
 
 Any repository outside Core must not redefine Riverbraid protocol semantics. It may only declare its role, expose its verification surface, and pass the applicable ring gates.
 
+## Ring vocabulary
+
+Riverbraid-Core is classified as a Ring 0 repository in the current cluster manifest.
+
+A Ring 2 pass required after a coupling-sensitive Core change is a dependent compatibility gate against the declared infrastructure set. It does not make Core a Ring 2 repository. Historical phase-number labels do not define current authority or verification state.
+
+See `VOCABULARY_LOCK.md` and `AUTHORITY.md` for the controlling terminology.
+
+## Fixture policy
+
+Core does not retain empty contract fixtures as evidence-shaped placeholders. The current fixture policy is recorded in `fixtures/README.md`.
+
+A future fixture enters Core only when it has a declared consumer, schema or structural contract, expected result and exit behavior, negative cases, and execution-evidence relationship. Public reproduction fixtures otherwise belong to the versioned Evaluation Kit profile.
+
 ## Coupling Test
 
-Any change to these files requires a full Ring 2 verification pass before being treated as valid:
-* constellation-audit.mjs
-* byte-audit.mjs
-* cluster-manifest-v2.json
-* verify-output.json
-* audit-output.json
-* AUDIT-MANIFEST.sha256
-* AUDIT-TRAIL.ndjson
+Any change to these files requires a full Ring 2 compatibility pass before being treated as valid:
+
+- `constellation-audit.mjs`
+- `byte-audit.mjs`
+- `cluster-manifest-v2.json`
+- `verify-output.json`
+- `audit-output.json`
+- `AUDIT-MANIFEST.sha256`
+- `AUDIT-TRAIL.ndjson`
+
+Required check:
 
-Required checks:
+```bash
+npm run verify:compatibility
+```
+
+Equivalent underlying commands:
 
 ```bash
 node constellation-audit.mjs --ring 2
 node byte-audit.mjs --ring 2
 ```
 
 Expected verified states:
-* RING_GATE_PASS_VERIFIED
-* BYTE_GATE_PASS_VERIFIED
+
+- `RING_GATE_PASS_VERIFIED`
+- `BYTE_GATE_PASS_VERIFIED`
 
 ## Scale Separation Gate
 
@@ -77,40 +107,49 @@ Core must remain small enough to audit directly. New experimental behavior belon
 ## Linear vs Nonlinear Boundary
 
 The Core audit path is linear:
-1. Declare manifest
-2. Check required files
-3. Read verifier outputs
-4. Hash tracked bytes
-5. Reject BOM
-6. Reject dirty worktrees
-7. Emit audit manifest
-8. Record audit trail
+
+1. Declare manifest.
+2. Check required files.
+3. Read verifier outputs.
+4. Hash tracked bytes.
+5. Reject BOM.
+6. Reject dirty worktrees.
+7. Emit audit manifest.
+8. Record audit trail.
 
 The broader Riverbraid research surface may remain nonlinear, experimental, expressive, or exploratory. That layer does not override Core verification.
 
 ## Stationary State Invariant
 
 Riverbraid-Core is stationary when all of the following are true:
-* Local worktree is clean
-* Required files are present
-* Verifier outputs parse successfully
-* Ring 2 returns RING_GATE_PASS_VERIFIED
-* Ring 2 returns BYTE_GATE_PASS_VERIFIED
-* Audit manifest exists
-* Audit trail records the verification event
-* No UTF-8 BOM is present in tracked text files
+
+- Local worktree is clean.
+- Required files are present.
+- Verifier outputs parse successfully.
+- The applicable ring gate returns its required verified state.
+- The byte gate returns its required verified state.
+- Audit manifest exists.
+- Audit trail records the verification event.
+- No UTF-8 BOM is present in tracked text files.
 
 ## Verification
 
-Run:
+For the bounded local Core authority surface, run:
 
 ```bash
-node constellation-audit.mjs --ring 2
-node byte-audit.mjs --ring 2
+npm run verify
+```
+
+For the dependent Ring 2 compatibility path after a coupling-sensitive Core change, run:
+
+```bash
+npm run verify:compatibility
 ```
 
+For the public pinned reproduction path, use Riverbraid-Evaluation-Kit.
+
 ## Claim Hygiene
 
-Riverbraid-Core supports the bounded claim that Riverbraid has a working open-source deterministic integrity floor and governance artifact.
+Riverbraid-Core supports the bounded claim that Riverbraid has a working open-source deterministic integrity floor and governance artifact under its implemented conditions.
 
 The broader claims around True AI, mathematical physics of cognition, memory-flow-truth braiding, resonance, and intent-aware compute remain active experimental directions unless implemented, tested, and verified in dedicated repositories.

VOCABULARY_LOCK.md

@@ -1,23 +1,53 @@
 # VOCABULARY_LOCK.md
-# Version: 1.0.0
+# Version: 1.1.0
 # Authority: Normative (Riverbraid-Core)
 
 ## 1. System States
-- **Active**: Behavior is proven via deterministic vectors.
+
+- **Active**: Behavior is proven via deterministic vectors under a declared contract.
 - **Parked**: Non-behavior and boundary integrity are proven.
 - **Experimental**: Explicitly excluded from the trusted floor.
 - **Deprecated**: Authority is scheduled for removal.
 - **Archived**: Authority is removed; preserved for historical audit only.
 
 ## 2. Core Integrity Terms
-- **Verified**: A state confirmed by a passing vector test.
-- **Fail-Closed**: A safety state where any ambiguity results in a refusal or "Fail" status.
-- **Stationary**: A state where the system is stable and reproducible.
-- **Reconstructable**: The ability for a stranger to reproduce the system from the manifest.
-- **Claim Boundary**: The declared limit of what a repository is authorized to verify.
+
+- **Verified**: A state confirmed by a passing, source-bound vector or evaluator result under declared conditions.
+- **Fail-Closed**: A safety state where ambiguity, missing required evidence, or an invalid condition produces a bounded non-pass result.
+- **Stationary**: A state where the declared system surface is stable and reproducible under its comparison contract.
+- **Reconstructable**: The ability for a stranger to reproduce the declared system state from the manifest and required evidence.
+- **Claim Boundary**: The declared limit of what an exact repository, profile, run, or authority disposition may assert.
 
 ## 3. Structural Roles
-- **Normative**: Defines meaning and rules for the constellation.
-- **Verifier**: Executes tests to prove claims.
-- **Support**: Provides shared logic or structures.
+
+- **Normative**: Defines meaning and rules for the declared Riverbraid protocol surface.
+- **Verifier**: Executes declared tests and emits a bounded mechanical result.
+- **Support**: Provides shared logic, tooling, structures, or public infrastructure without redefining protocol semantics.
 - **Informative**: Provides human-legible context without machine authority.
+
+## 4. Ring Vocabulary
+
+- **Repository Ring**: The repository's declared structural position in the current cluster manifest.
+- **Dependent Ring Gate**: A required compatibility or coupling check against another declared ring. It does not change the repository's own ring.
+- **Ring 0**: Current normative protocol-authority and trust-anchor class in `cluster-manifest-v2.json`.
+- **Ring 1**: Current declared Gold or domain-petal class.
+- **Ring 2**: Current declared infrastructure compatibility class.
+- **Ring 3**: Current declared peripheral or best-effort class.
+
+Riverbraid-Core is a Ring 0 repository. A required Ring 2 compatibility pass for coupling-sensitive Core changes is a dependent gate, not a second repository classification.
+
+## 5. Historical Phase Labels
+
+Phase-number labels describe historical implementation sequences. They do not define current authority, verification, lifecycle, or public claim status unless an active source-bound control record explicitly adopts them.
+
+`Proposed Phase 15` is retired from current Core authority language and must not be used as a substitute for the active repository role, ring, verification surface, or claim boundary.
+
+## 6. Vocabulary Separation Rules
+
+- Role is not lifecycle.
+- Lifecycle is not registry membership.
+- Registry membership is not verification depth.
+- Verification depth is not execution evidence.
+- Execution evidence is not authority disposition.
+- A dependent compatibility gate is not repository reclassification.
+- Historical phase sequence is not current applicability.