docs(phase-4a): compress the compatibility window by maintainer decision (#422)

* docs(phase-4a): compress the compatibility window by maintainer decision

Records the 2026-07-21 maintainer decision waiving the v0.27.0 + 90-day
dual gate: both mirrors are the maintainer's own MIT code under the same
owner with zero forks and zero known reverse dependencies, and the clone
traffic traces to the maintainer's own fleet and CI. Phase 4B archival is
authorized once the remaining compressed checklist completes. The
non-destructive data invariants and the no-rewrite/no-force-push rule for
the mirror master branches survive unchanged.

* docs(phase-4a): fix semicolons in prose per vale

* docs(phase-4a): tick operator MCP migration in the compressed checklist

* test(release-metadata): lock the compressed phase-4a policy invariants

* test(release-metadata): assert the documentation-link checklist item

Author: solomonneas

docs/phase-4a-compatibility-and-archive.md

@@ -1,12 +1,45 @@
 # Phase 4A Compatibility Policy and Phase 4B Archive Checklist
 
-> **Status: Phase 4A policy is active. Phase 4B archival execution is not authorized.**
+> **Status: The compatibility window is compressed by maintainer decision
+> (2026-07-21). Phase 4B archival execution is authorized once the remaining
+> checklist items below are complete.**
 
 Phase 4A and Phase 4B are this policy's execution split within RFC Phase 4.
-This policy records the active compatibility window for the unified Brigade
-release. v0.25.0 is live, so the window began at T0 on
-2026-07-21T00:50:15Z. It does not authorize, execute, or claim completion of
-any archival step. Phase 4B requires the gates and checklist below.
+This policy records the compatibility window for the unified Brigade release.
+v0.25.0 is live. The window began at T0 on 2026-07-21T00:50:15Z.
+
+## Maintainer decision: compressed window (2026-07-21)
+
+The original policy set a dual gate (v0.27.0 and a 90-day calendar gate at
+2026-10-19). That gate protected external consumers of the standalone
+mirrors. The maintainer reviewed the exposure and recorded this decision:
+
+- Both mirrors are the maintainer's own MIT-licensed code under the same
+  owner (escoffier-labs). There are no external users to protect: zero
+  forks, zero known reverse dependencies, and the GitHub clone counts trace
+  to the maintainer's own fleet and CI.
+- No legal or dependency blocker exists.
+
+The dual gate is therefore waived. Archival may execute as soon as the
+remaining Phase 4B checklist items are complete. The following original
+requirements are explicitly **waived by the same decision**:
+
+- The 90-day calendar gate and the v0.27.0 version gate.
+- The final `graphtrail` 0.5.0 crates.io compatibility release. The
+  published crate versions stay unyanked for reproducibility. The crate is
+  marked deprecated and maintenance-frozen with no further releases.
+- The Brigade-owned session list/search facade as a pre-archival blocker for
+  `sessionfind`. The `sessionfind` shim ships in the managed engine set and
+  keeps working after the mirrors are archived. The facade remains ordinary
+  roadmap work, not an archive gate.
+
+Non-negotiables that survive the compression unchanged:
+
+- Existing databases, data paths, and schemas are non-destructive
+  invariants. No action relocates, deletes, or destructively migrates them.
+- The `master` branches of the mirrors are never rewritten or force-pushed.
+  Migration notices and any security fixes are ordinary commits on top.
+- Archiving a mirror freezes it read-only on GitHub. It deletes nothing.
 
 ## Scope and references
 
@@ -19,7 +52,7 @@ release record is the [Brigade releases page](https://github.com/escoffier-labs/
 The Phase 2 [import source-of-truth policy
 context](https://github.com/escoffier-labs/brigade/issues/352#issuecomment-5018303485)
 documents the interim import-history, commit-map, and authorship context.
-Those records remain anchored to the standalone mirrors; the comment neither
+Those records remain anchored to the standalone mirrors. The comment neither
 sets nor governs a binding boundary. The governing Phase 3 [no-rewrite
 amendment](https://github.com/escoffier-labs/brigade/issues/352#issuecomment-5019220456)
 is the authority that prohibits rewriting or force-pushing their `master`
@@ -31,147 +64,83 @@ Agent Pantry is out of scope. agent-notify/#366 is out of scope. Neither
 repository is part of this compatibility policy, source-history migration, or
 future archive checklist.
 
-## Release record and dual gate
+## Release record
 
 | Record | Value |
 | --- | --- |
 | First unified compatibility-bearing minor | v0.25.0 |
 | Published at | 2026-07-21T00:50:15Z |
-| UTC calendar gate | 2026-10-19 |
-| Exact 90-day timestamp | 2026-10-19T00:50:15Z |
-| Second compatibility-bearing minor | v0.26.0 |
-| Earliest removal or archival release | v0.27.0, after the calendar gate |
 | T0 | v0.25.0 published at 2026-07-21T00:50:15Z |
-| Current status | The compatibility window is active. Phase 4B archival execution remains unauthorized |
-
-v0.25.0 is the first compatibility-bearing unified minor, and v0.26.0 is the
-second. T0 is the live v0.25.0 publication timestamp, 2026-07-21T00:50:15Z.
-The UTC calendar gate date is 2026-10-19. The gate does not open until
-2026-10-19T00:50:15Z.
-
-Removal or archival may first ship in v0.27.0 after the calendar gate. Both the
-version gate and the calendar gate must be satisfied.
-
-If v0.27.0 ships before the calendar gate, wait for the calendar gate. If the
-calendar gate arrives before v0.27.0, wait for the version gate.
-A release date alone does not authorize removal, and a version number alone
-does not authorize archival.
+| Original dual gate | v0.27.0 + 2026-10-19 calendar gate (waived 2026-07-21) |
+| Current status | Window compressed. Phase 4B authorized pending checklist completion |
 
 ## Compatibility contract
 
-The compatibility window covers these executable shims:
+The managed engine set installed by `brigade setup` continues to ship these
+executables:
 
 - `graphtrail`
 - `graphtrail-mcp`
 - `miseledger`
 - `sessionfind`
 
-It also covers the `brigade search sync`, `brigade search context`, and
-`brigade search impact` executable aliases for `brigade code sync`,
-`brigade code context`, and `brigade code impact`. Standalone manifest-source
-and independent-install compatibility paths retain their separately documented
+Archiving the mirrors does not remove or change any of them. They are the
+engines, distributed and pinned by Brigade. The `brigade search sync`,
+`brigade search context`, and `brigade search impact` executable aliases for
+`brigade code sync`, `brigade code context`, and `brigade code impact` also
+remain. Standalone manifest-source and independent-install compatibility
+paths retain their separately documented
 [one-release fallback](update-channels.md).
 
-At T0, the governed operation inventory for each v0.25.0 shim is its public
-subcommands, help behavior, and JSON contracts. For every shipped non-meta
-operation, Phase 4B requires either a behavior-equivalent Brigade-owned path
-or an explicit maintainer decision to retain the shim. An operation without a
-disposition blocks removal.
-
-`--help`, `--version`, and `version` are compatibility probes, not migration
-workflows that require replacement commands. They must remain functional for
-the compatibility window. This includes `sessionfind version`; its probe does
-not imply that it needs a user-workflow replacement command.
+Current compatibility-equivalent engine commands for `sessionfind`:
 
 | Compatibility invocation | Current compatibility-equivalent engine command |
 | --- | --- |
 | `sessionfind list` | `miseledger sessions list` |
 | `sessionfind search <query>` | `miseledger sessions search <query>` |
 | `sessionfind <query>` | `miseledger sessions search <query>` |
 
-The `miseledger sessions list` and `miseledger sessions search` entries are
-current compatibility-equivalent engine commands, not final Brigade-owned
-replacements. Because `miseledger` is in the same shim cohort as `sessionfind`,
-`sessionfind` is not removal-ready until a Brigade-owned session list/search
-facade exists, tests prove equivalent filters and JSON behavior, and its
-deprecation message names that Brigade command. A missing Brigade-owned session
-facade blocks Phase 4B.
-
-`brigade setup` is the distribution replacement command for `graphtrail-mcp`.
-It installs the Brigade-managed `graphtrail-mcp` binary. MCP clients retain the
-`graphtrail-mcp` protocol but must move their configuration to the managed
-absolute path. The `graphtrail-mcp` deprecation message must name `brigade
-setup`, the managed-path configuration change, and the earliest removal
-condition: v0.27.0 after the actual T0 + 90-day calendar gate, with both the
-version gate and the calendar gate satisfied.
-
-For each shipped non-meta operation, Phase 4B requires either a
-behavior-equivalent Brigade-owned path or an explicit maintainer decision to
-retain the shim. Any operation without that disposition blocks removal.
+`brigade setup` is the distribution replacement for every standalone install
+path. MCP clients retain the `graphtrail-mcp` protocol but configure the
+managed absolute path (`brigade setup` records it in `installed.json`, and
+Brigade's config generators emit it).
 
 Existing databases, data paths, and schemas are non-destructive invariants.
 No compatibility action may relocate, delete, or migrate an existing database
 or data path destructively.
 
-Each deprecation message must name the replacement command and state the
-earliest removal condition: v0.27.0 after the actual T0 + 90-day calendar gate,
-with both the version gate and the calendar gate satisfied. For code-graph
-invocations, name the applicable `brigade code sync`, `brigade code context`,
-or `brigade code impact` command. For MiseLedger-backed evidence invocations,
-name the applicable `brigade evidence crawl`, `brigade evidence search`, or
-`brigade evidence doctor` command. For sessionfind invocations, use the mappings
-above. There are no silent removals.
-
 ## Frozen standalone mirrors
 
 The `master` branches of `escoffier-labs/graphtrail` and
 `escoffier-labs/miseledger` must not be rewritten or force-pushed. Their import
 commit maps anchor the source-history migration.
 
 Migration notices are ordinary commits on top of `master`. Security fixes may
-also be ordinary commits during the compatibility window. No feature work
+also be ordinary commits while the mirrors remain unarchived. No feature work
 returns to either mirror.
 
 ## GraphTrail crates.io policy
 
-Publish graphtrail 0.5.0 from the Brigade monorepo as the final compatibility
-minor. It must retain working legacy binaries and features and include migration
-warnings. Patch releases during the compatibility window are limited to security
-and release-integrity fixes.
-
-After both gates are satisfied, leave every published crate version unyanked for
-reproducibility. Mark the crate deprecated and maintenance-frozen, remove current
-`cargo install` guidance, and publish no feature releases.
+Per the 2026-07-21 maintainer decision, no further crates.io releases ship.
+Leave every published crate version unyanked for reproducibility. Mark the
+crate deprecated and maintenance-frozen, and remove current `cargo install`
+guidance from documentation.
 
-## Future Phase 4B checklist
+## Phase 4B checklist (compressed)
 
-All unchecked items below describe future work. They are not authorization to
-perform it while Phase 4A is active.
-
-- [ ] Confirm both the version gate and the calendar gate.
-- [ ] Verify every shim and Brigade search alias, including its replacement command and earliest removal message.
-- [ ] Capture the T0 shim operation inventory and disposition every shipped non-meta operation with a behavior-equivalent Brigade-owned path or an explicit maintainer decision to retain the shim.
-- [ ] Build and verify the Brigade-owned session list/search facade, including equivalent filters and JSON behavior, then name it in the `sessionfind` deprecation message.
-- [ ] Migrate `graphtrail-mcp` MCP client configuration to the Brigade-managed absolute path installed by `brigade setup`, and verify its deprecation message.
-- [ ] Audit and migrate Brigade-generated MCP configs, including `src/brigade/cursor_user_cmd.py`, from PATH-based `graphtrail-mcp` and `miseledger` commands to managed absolute paths.
-- [ ] Audit, transfer, or close remaining issues with links to [#364](https://github.com/escoffier-labs/brigade/issues/364) and [#365](https://github.com/escoffier-labs/brigade/issues/365).
-- [ ] Publish and verify the final `graphtrail` 0.5.0 compatibility release.
+- [x] Maintainer decision recorded waiving the dual gate (this document, 2026-07-21).
+- [x] Audit and migrate Brigade-generated MCP configs, including `src/brigade/cursor_user_cmd.py`, from PATH-based `graphtrail-mcp` and `miseledger` commands to managed absolute paths (PR #419).
+- [x] Migrate operator MCP client configuration to the Brigade-managed absolute path installed by `brigade setup` (operator machine migrated 2026-07-21: codex, Cursor, OpenClaw, and Claude configs plus the capped MCP wrapper now use the managed set).
 - [ ] Confirm migration notices as ordinary commits on both mirrors.
 - [ ] Verify that neither standalone `master` branch was rewritten or force-pushed.
 - [ ] Update product and documentation links to the Brigade release path.
-- [ ] Capture final release and acceptance evidence.
-- [ ] Obtain maintainer approval for Phase 4B execution.
-- [ ] Archive `escoffier-labs/graphtrail` (prohibited during Phase 4A).
-- [ ] Archive `escoffier-labs/miseledger` (prohibited during Phase 4A).
+- [ ] Archive `escoffier-labs/graphtrail`.
+- [ ] Archive `escoffier-labs/miseledger`.
 
 ## Stop and rollback conditions
 
-Stop Phase 4B before archival if either dual gate is unmet, a shim or alias
-lacks its required message, a data-path or schema invariant is at risk, the
-final crate release is not verified, a migration notice is missing, or
-maintainer approval is absent.
-
-If a pre-archive compatibility problem appears, keep the mirrors active and
-repair it with an ordinary commit or a security/release-integrity patch as
-applicable. Do not rewrite standalone `master`, do not force-push, and do not
-archive either repository until every Phase 4B checklist item is complete.
+Stop before archival if a data-path or schema invariant is at risk or a
+migration notice is missing. If a pre-archive compatibility problem appears,
+keep the mirrors active and repair it with an ordinary commit. Do not rewrite
+standalone `master`, do not force-push. After archival, a mirror can be
+unarchived from GitHub settings at any time if a repair is ever needed.