gstack/docs/troubleshooting.md

# Troubleshooting gstack messages

Find the message you saw, then follow its fix. Every check gstack runs ends in
one of three states:

- **ran**: the check executed. It may still have found problems.
- **not run**: gstack chose not to run it (you turned it off, or nothing applied).
- **unavailable**: gstack tried and could not run it. This is missing coverage,
  never a pass.

A message that is not `ran` has this shape:

```
<check>: not run (<reason>). Fix: <command>
<check> unavailable: <reason> (<detail>). No review ran; this is missing coverage, not a pass. Fix: <command>
<check>: ran, verdict unverified (<reason>). Fix: read the output above
```

Search this page for the words after `unavailable:` or `not run (`. Each
section has a stable link anchor; the reason codes and anchors come from
`lib/gate-outcomes.ts`, and a free test fails if a code has no section here.

<a id="gstack-doctor"></a>
### Check readiness before a skill runs

Run `~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-doctor` (other hosts: `./setup --status`
in your gstack checkout prints the doctor's absolute path). It prints one row
each for the install, state root, Bun, hooks, Codex, the cached Codex model
check, artifacts sync, the browse bundle, the other compiled binaries, the
/cso native helper, Claude Code, the largest session journal and recent
/autoplan guard codes. Each row is `ok`, `warn`,
`not configured` or `fail` with its fix; only `fail` exits non-zero. It makes
no paid call: the Codex rows report the cached model check and its age, and
`--live` runs that check once. Paste its output into bug reports.

---

## Model policy

The [model-policy guide](model-policy.md) explains the two tiers, all six
settings, precedence and the read-only inspection command. A resolved selection
is not proof that the requested provider or model can run.

<a id="model-policy-config"></a>
### Model policy configuration is invalid or unreadable

**Meaning.** The new policy path could not read a coherent configuration or a
configured value is invalid. An unreadable file is not treated as an absent
setting: doing that could silently select the premium default.

**Fix.** Repair the file or key named by the error. `plan_review_tier` accepts
`frontier`, `smart` or `host`; `implementation_tier` accepts `frontier` or
`smart`. Use `gstack-config unset <key>` to restore a default, not an empty
value. A rejected `set` leaves the old value intact. Correct ownership/read
permissions rather than deleting an unrelated state directory.
For a malformed line such as `plan_review_tier = smart`, edit the reported file
and correct or remove that line first: `unset` only removes canonical `key:`
records and cannot repair a misspelled delimiter or quoted key.

**Expected result.** `gstack-models list` or the corresponding `resolve`
command explains the winning source. No outside model call ran on this error.

<a id="model-policy-provider"></a>
### A custom provider needs an explicit model or host mode

**Meaning.** Native settings or environment flags route the reviewer to a
custom endpoint or partner platform. A public API catalog identifier is not
necessarily a valid deployment identifier there. Malformed native provider
configuration also prevents gstack from assuming the public endpoint.

**Fix.** Supply a compatible model for that request, set the provider's gstack
environment override or tier-model setting, or choose
`gstack-config set plan_review_tier host`. Keep credentials in the provider's
normal authentication mechanism, never in a model setting. If the error names
a malformed native configuration, fix that source first.

**Expected result.** Inspection reports an explicit selection or honest
host-managed delegation. It does not certify account entitlement or send a
public default to an inferred custom endpoint.

<a id="model-policy-selection"></a>
### The selected review model could not be used

**Meaning.** The requested model was rejected or the provider could not
complete the review. A model may be nonexistent, unavailable to the account,
retired, or behind a misconfigured endpoint; preserve the provider's evidence
rather than treating all of these as the same diagnosis. No successful outside
review is implied, and gstack does not substitute a different model.

**Fix.** Change the source named in the error. For example, an environment
override beats a tier setting, so editing the tier cannot replace it. Unset or
correct that override, or explicitly name a supported model for the request.
Follow the existing auth, quota, sandbox or timeout repair when that is the
reported failure. Missing usage identity remains unknown, even if inspection
showed a requested ID.

**Expected result.** The next invocation announces its model and source,
checks that same selection and reports the actual provider result. A cached
probe or a native fallback is not a completed outside review.

<a id="model-policy-freshness"></a>
### Model-catalog freshness is unknown, stale or needs an update

**Meaning.** Official evidence changed, a required source could not be
checked, or the retained evidence does not match this catalog and parser.
`unknown/source-unavailable` is not current. A later source failure must not
erase an earlier retirement finding or close its maintenance issue.

**Fix.** Read the failed source and evidence details in the freshness workflow
report and tracking issue. Repair the source parser or publication access when
needed, then run the workflow manually against the default branch. If a model
was superseded or deprecated, follow the [maintainer checklist](model-policy.md#maintainer-update-checklist)
to qualify a replacement or record a supported mitigation. Do not clear the
issue just because a new release has not been adopted yet.

**Expected result.** Complete source checks produce evidence bound to the
current catalog, while unresolved lifecycle findings remain visible. Personal
pins and unrelated PRs are unchanged. Check the workflow's last run date too:
a scheduled job that never runs cannot report its own absence.

#### Repairing `recoveryRequired` state

This flag deliberately keeps the issue open until a maintainer repairs the
record. Another successful fetch alone cannot certify corrupted history.

1. Save the current issue body, including its retained recovery archive, and
   download the latest trustworthy workflow report. Use its `report.state` as
   the starting state; do not invent run IDs, catalog hashes or check dates.
2. Reconcile its `lifecycle` array with the issue's independent lifecycle block
   and any retained archive. Preserve known retirements, deadlines and human
   dispositions. A model currently in the catalog must not keep an old
   `resolvedByCatalog` flag from a previous replacement.
3. In the issue editor, restore valid JSON between the `state:begin` and
   `state:end` marker lines. Put that same lifecycle array between
   `lifecycle:begin` and `lifecycle:end`. Restore the standalone ownership and
   region markers, and leave human text outside the owned region intact.
4. Set `recoveryRequired` to `false` only after that reconciliation. If prior
   successful evidence cannot be verified, set `lastSuccess` to `null` rather
   than making up a fresh success. If lifecycle history cannot be recovered,
   leave the flag set and the issue open for investigation.
5. Run **Model-policy freshness** against the default branch. Only complete,
   current evidence with no unresolved findings can close the issue. A parsing
   or source error leaves it open; do not clear history to manufacture a pass.

## Outside reviews (Codex and Claude Code)

Outside reviews send your diff, plan or question to a second AI provider. Their
verdict comes from `lib/outside-review-result.ts`, which prints
`VERDICT: clean|findings|unverified|unavailable`. A `findings` verdict with a
P0 or P1 finding blocks exactly like a native P0/P1. `unverified` and
`unavailable` are missing coverage: /ship and /review continue, show the gap in
the readiness dashboard and the PR body, and never count it as a pass.

<a id="outside-review-verdict"></a>
### How the verdict is read from a review

- **Severity tags.** `[P0]`-`[P3]`, Codex's native `P1:` labels, and a P0-P3
  label at the start of a line after an optional heading, bullet, number or
  bold: `**P1 — x**`, `**P1** — x`, `1. P2 — x`, `P2 —`, `### P1`, or a table
  cell `| P1 |`. P0 and P1 block; P2 and P3 are advisory. A P0-P3 token in that
  label position that none of these forms reads (`## P1/P2 findings`) makes the
  review [`unverified`](#outside-review-unparsed-severity), never `clean`. Code
  fences and inline code are quotes, not labels.
- **Severity words in label position.** `Severity: High`, `Priority: low`, a
  line that starts with `High:`, `High —`, `[High]` or `**High**` (after an
  optional heading, bullet or number), a bold `**High**` anywhere, or a table
  cell `| high |`. Critical and High block like P0 and P1; Medium and Low are
  advisory like P2 and P3. Words inside prose do not count: "high-level",
  "low-risk", "a medium-term follow-up" and "no critical findings" are not
  findings.
- **Every review gate.** These rules apply to every gate that summarises a
  review, including the `execution` gate behind `/codex` consult and challenge.
  A reply whose last `Verdict:` line says `not ready` but carries no readable
  severity prints `FINDINGS: unspecified` and exits 3 like a blocking finding.
- **No findings.** A review with no tag and no label is `clean` only when it
  says so explicitly (`NO_FINDINGS`, "no issues", "did not find any bugs").
  Otherwise it is `unverified` (see below), never `clean`. A `/codex` consult
  answer with no severity labels at all is not a review summary and stays
  `clean`.
- **Design proposals** (the design-direction voices in /design-consultation
  and /office-hours) are read with the `proposal` gate: a completed proposal
  needs only its `Recommendation: ... because ...` line.

Outside-review prompts ask the reviewer to label each finding Critical, High,
Medium or Low, so most reviews land on `findings` or `clean`.

<a id="sourced-helper-location"></a>
### `gstack: cannot load gstack-codex-probe` / `gstack: cannot locate <helper> (shell: ...)` / `CODEX_MODE: helper_unavailable`

**Meaning.** Skills run `gstack-codex-probe` as a command, one subcommand per
check, so the shell your agent uses does not matter. `cannot load
gstack-codex-probe` and `CODEX_MODE: helper_unavailable` mean the probe file is
missing or not executable in your install.

`cannot locate <helper> (shell: ...)` comes from a helper that is still loaded
into your shell with `source` (`gstack-egress-lib.sh`, and the Codex probe when
a skill rendered before the upgrade sources it). Such a helper finds its own
directory from bash (`BASH_SOURCE`) or zsh (`%x`). In any other shell (dash,
sh), or when the shell cannot say which file it is reading, it stops instead of
guessing a path. The message names the shell it saw.

**Fix.** For `cannot load`, re-run `./setup` from your gstack checkout (or
`/gstack-upgrade`). For `cannot locate`, run the skill from bash or zsh (the
macOS and Linux defaults), or tell the helper where gstack is installed:

```bash
export GSTACK_ROOT=~/.claude/skills/gstack   # your install dir; it holds bin/
```

If you see `gstack: sourcing gstack-codex-probe is deprecated ...`, a skill
rendered before the upgrade is still sourcing the probe. It keeps working
until a release on or after 2026-10-21; run `/gstack-upgrade` to re-render
your skills now.

**Expected result.** `~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-codex-probe select-model exec`
prints `CODEX_SEL: <model>` (and `CODEX_MODEL: <model> (exec; source: ...)` on
stderr) from any shell, and preflights print a `CODEX_MODE` other than
`helper_unavailable`. `gstack-codex-probe help` lists every subcommand.

<a id="codex-sandbox-unavailable"></a>
### `Codex outside review unavailable: Codex's sandbox could not start here (...)`

**Meaning.** Codex runs every command inside a Linux sandbox (bubblewrap). In
many containers and devcontainers the kernel does not allow unprivileged user
namespaces, so the sandbox cannot start and every command Codex tries fails.
gstack reports this instead of trusting a review that read nothing.
`CODEX_MODE: sandbox_unavailable` is the same condition found by the free
preflight before any paid call.

**What is kept.** Nothing was sent for review, or the review was discarded. Your
code and files are unchanged.

**Fix.** Enable unprivileged user namespaces for the container (for Docker, a
seccomp profile that allows them), or, inside a container you trust, run
Codex without its sandbox for this shell:

```bash
export GSTACK_CODEX_NO_SANDBOX=1
```

**Expected result.** With namespaces enabled, the next review prints
`OUTSIDE_STATUS: completed`. With `GSTACK_CODEX_NO_SANDBOX=1`, every review
prints `WARNING: GSTACK_CODEX_NO_SANDBOX=1: ...` because Codex can then read
and write anything your user can. Only the exact value `1` works, and only from
your shell environment.

<a id="outside-review-commands-failed"></a>
### `... outside review unavailable: the reviewer could not run commands or read the diff (...)`

**Meaning.** The reviewer tried to run commands but none succeeded, or its
answer says it could not run commands or read the diff. A "no issues found"
written after that is not a review.

**What is kept.** Nothing; the answer is shown above but not counted.

**Fix.** Read the reviewer's stderr above, repair what it names, and re-run.

**Expected result.** `OUTSIDE_STATUS: completed` with a `VERDICT:` line.

<a id="outside-review-execution-failed"></a>
### `... outside review unavailable: the reviewer process failed (exit N: ...)`

**Meaning.** The provider CLI exited non-zero. The first stderr line is in the
parentheses.

**What is kept.** Partial output is shown above; it is not counted.

**Fix.** Repair the cause in the provider diagnosis (log in again, fix the
model, check the network), then re-run.

**Expected result.** `OUTSIDE_STATUS: completed`.

<a id="outside-review-timeout"></a>
### `... outside review unavailable: the reviewer hit its time limit and was stopped (exit 124)`

**Meaning.** The provider did not finish within its deadline and was stopped.

**What is kept.** Partial output is shown above; it is not counted.

**Fix.** Re-run with a smaller scope, or check the provider's status and your
network.

**Expected result.** `OUTSIDE_STATUS: completed`.

<a id="outside-review-empty-response"></a>
### `... outside review unavailable: the reviewer returned no response`

**Meaning.** The provider exited successfully but returned nothing.

**Fix.** Read the stderr above, then re-run.

**Expected result.** `OUTSIDE_STATUS: completed`.

<a id="outside-review-refused"></a>
### `... outside review unavailable: the reviewer declined to review`

**Meaning.** The provider answered with a refusal instead of a review.

**Fix.** Re-run; if it declines again, rely on the native review.

**Expected result.** `OUTSIDE_STATUS: completed`.

<a id="outside-review-missing-markers"></a>
### `... outside review unavailable: the response lacks the markers this gate requires (...)`

**Meaning.** The answer did not contain what the gate checks: a
`Recommendation: ... because ...` line, a `SCORE:`/`AMBIGUITIES:` pair, or
severity tags.

**Fix.** Re-run the review.

**Expected result.** `OUTSIDE_STATUS: completed`.

<a id="outside-review-unverified"></a>
### `... outside review: ran, verdict unverified (...)` / `OUTSIDE_STATUS: unverified` / `GATE: UNVERIFIED`

**Meaning.** The review completed but had no severity tag or label and gave
no explicit no-findings conclusion, so no pass or fail can be read from it
([how the verdict is read](#outside-review-verdict)).

**What is kept.** The full answer is shown above.

**Fix.** Read the output above and decide. It is not a pass, and /ship and
/review list it as missing coverage.

<a id="outside-review-unparsed-severity"></a>
### `... outside review: ran, verdict unverified (the review labels a finding with a P0-P3 severity in a form the parser cannot read (line N: "..."))` / `REASON: unparsed_severity`

**Meaning.** The reply starts a line with a P0-P3 token, the place a finding's
label goes, but in a form gstack does not read as one severity, for example
`## P1/P2 findings` or `- P2/P3 nits`. gstack will not guess which severity
applies, so the verdict is unverified instead of `clean`. The quoted line in
parentheses (also printed as `UNPARSED:`) is the first such label. When the
same reply also has a readable P0 or P1 finding, that finding blocks
(`VERDICT: findings`, exit 3) and the unparsed line is still printed.

**What is kept.** The full reply is shown above.

**Fix.** Read the quoted line and the reply, and decide; it is not a pass.
Re-run the review and ask the reviewer to label each finding `[P1] <title>` or
`P1: <title>`. To re-check a saved or corrected reply, run from your gstack
checkout:

```bash
bun lib/outside-review-result.ts --verdict execution reply.md
```

(use `review` or `structured` for those gates).

**Expected result.** `VERDICT: findings` or `VERDICT: clean` with a P0-P3
`FINDINGS:` value, and no `UNPARSED:` line.

<a id="codex-model-unusable"></a>
### `CODEX_MODE: model_unusable` / `MODEL_UNUSABLE`

**Meaning.** Codex rejected the selected model: the account cannot use it
(HTTP 400), the model is retired, or a custom provider's `base_url` is wrong
(HTTP 404). The `CODEX_MODEL:` line names the model and where it came from.

**Fix.** Choose a model your account can use, or correct the provider:

```bash
export GSTACK_CODEX_MODEL=<supported-model>
# or edit model / base_url in ${CODEX_HOME:-~/.codex}/config.toml
```

**Expected result.** `CODEX_MODE: ready`.

<a id="codex-quota-exhausted"></a>
### `CODEX_MODE: quota_exhausted` / `MODEL_QUOTA_EXHAUSTED`

**Meaning.** Codex refused the call because the account behind it hit its
usage limit (`You've hit your usage limit`, or `insufficient_quota`). The line
under the marker is Codex's own message, with its reset time and where to buy
more. The model choice is fine. gstack reports outside coverage as
unavailable, never as a pass, and caches the result for 15 minutes, so the
rest of the run (and other skills) make no Codex call. The HINT line says how
many minutes remain.

**Fix.** Wait for the reset time in Codex's message, or add credits or a
higher plan for that account. To use a different account, sign in again:

```bash
codex login
```

To re-check before gstack's 15-minute cache expires (for example, right after
buying credits), skip the cached result for one check, or delete it:

```bash
export GSTACK_CODEX_PROBE_RETRY=1   # unset it again afterwards
# or
rm -f ~/.gstack/.codex-model-probe  # <state root>/.codex-model-probe
```

**Expected result.** After the reset (or after `codex login`, which changes
the auth signature and re-probes at once), `CODEX_MODE: ready`.

<a id="codex-rate-limited"></a>
### `CODEX_MODE: unverified (rate_limited)` / `MODEL_PROBE_RATE_LIMITED` / `unavailable: Codex rate-limited the review`

**Meaning.** Codex answered HTTP 429 (too many requests), which usually clears
within seconds. It is a different state from `quota_exhausted` and is never
cached. At probe time the review still runs, and its own result decides. A 429
during the review itself means that review failed, so coverage is missing,
never a pass.

**Fix.** Re-run the review in a minute. If 429s persist, check the rate limits
for the account or API key on the provider's dashboard.

**Expected result.** `CODEX_MODE: ready`, and the review completes.

<a id="codex-mode-unverified"></a>
### `CODEX_MODE: unverified` / `MODEL_PROBE_INCONCLUSIVE`

**Meaning.** The short model check timed out or hit a network error, so gstack
could not confirm the model works. The review still runs and its own result is
checked.

**Fix.** Nothing now. If the review then fails, its message says why.

<a id="codex-auth-failed"></a>
### `CODEX_MODE: not_authed` / `AUTH_FAILED`

**Meaning.** No Codex credentials were found: no `CODEX_API_KEY`, no
`OPENAI_API_KEY`, no `auth.json`, and no set environment variable named by a
custom provider's `env_key` in `config.toml`.

**Fix.**

```bash
codex login
```

or export the variable your provider's `env_key` names.

**Expected result.** `CODEX_MODE: ready`.

<a id="outside-review-disabled"></a>
### `Codex review skipped (codex_reviews disabled)` / `CODEX_MODE: disabled`

**Meaning.** You turned outside reviews off. This is `not run`, never a pass and
never an outage.

**Fix.** To turn them back on:

```bash
gstack-config set codex_reviews enabled
```

<a id="outside-review-consent-missing"></a>
### `outside review: not run (outside reviews are turned off ... ). Fix: gstack-config set codex_reviews enabled ...` / `OUTSIDE_STATUS: not_run reason=consent_missing`

**Meaning.** The send itself refused. `gstack-codex-probe run-with-timeout`,
`gstack-claude-code`, `gstack-outside-voice` and the unattended
`gstack-autoplan` runner read `codex_reviews` before they send repository
content to an outside model. When it is `disabled`, or when the config file
exists but cannot be read (or holds a value other than `enabled` or
`disabled`), they print this line, start no CLI and make no API request. An
unset `codex_reviews` means the default, `enabled`, and the first send on a
machine prints the [notice](#codex-review-notice) below. A review you ask for by
name (`/codex`, `/claude-code`) passes `--user-invoked` and still runs. This is
`not run`, never a pass and never an outage; `/autoplan` records it as the
phase's outside outcome (`status: disabled`, `outcome: not_run`,
`reason: consent_missing`).

**Fix.** To allow outside reviews again:

```bash
gstack-config set codex_reviews enabled
gstack-config get --stored codex_reviews   # enabled, disabled, unset, or unreadable (exit 2)
```

If the stored read exits 2, fix the permissions or the malformed
`codex_reviews` line in the `config.yaml` it names, then re-run.

<a id="codex-review-notice"></a>
### `NOTICE: gstack outside reviews send the review prompt and code to Codex (...) using ...`

**Meaning.** Outside reviews are on by default. The first one on a machine
says which provider receives your prompt and code and which login or key pays
for it. It shows once (gstack records `.codex-review-notice-shown` in its state
directory) and never blocks the review.

**Fix.** Nothing, if that is what you want. To stop sending code to Codex:

```bash
gstack-config set codex_reviews disabled
```

**Expected result.** Later reviews print `Codex review skipped (codex_reviews disabled)`
or `CODEX_MODE: disabled`, and /ship and /review show the outside review as not run.

---

## /ship, /review and /document-release

<a id="ship-no-version-source"></a>
### `Shipped without a version change: no version source is configured (no VERSION file, no .gstack/version-path). ...`

**Meaning.** /ship found no version file it owns: there is no `VERSION`, no
`.gstack/version-path`, or release automation (release-please, Changesets,
semantic-release, a workspace monorepo, a placeholder package.json version)
owns the version. This is `not run` for the version bump.

**What is kept.** Everything else ships. No bump, no CHANGELOG version header,
no `vX.Y.Z` PR title prefix.

**Fix.** To have /ship version releases, create `VERSION`, or pin the file:

```bash
echo package.json > .gstack/version-path && git add .gstack/version-path
```

**Expected result.** The next /ship bumps that file and writes a CHANGELOG header.

<a id="ship-version-source-broken"></a>
### `gstack-version-bump: classify: version source is broken: <path> ...`

**Meaning.** The pinned version file does not exist, is empty, unreadable, or
contains no parsable version. /ship stops instead of inventing `0.0.0.0`.

**What is kept.** Nothing was written.

**Fix.** Repair that file, or correct `--version-path` / `.gstack/version-path`.

**Expected result.** `gstack-version-bump classify` prints the current version.

<a id="review-base-stale"></a>
### `BASE_REFRESH: stale <rev>` / `Base coverage: stale at <rev>`

**Meaning.** /review could not fetch the base branch (offline, no credentials,
or a read-only `.git` such as Codex's sandbox), so it reviewed against your
local `origin/<base>` at `<rev>`.

**Fix.** Run `git fetch origin <base>` outside the sandbox and rerun /review if
the base has moved.

<a id="review-fingerprint-tmpdir"></a>
### `gstack-wtree: cannot create a temp index under <dir>; set TMPDIR to a writable directory` / `gstack-review-log: cannot create a private object directory under <dir>; no working-tree fingerprint. Set TMPDIR to a writable directory.`

**Meaning.** /review fingerprints the working tree in a private temporary
object directory (Codex's sandbox keeps `.git` read-only). The temp directory
could not be created, so this review has no fingerprint and later steps cannot
reuse its evidence.

**Fix.** `export TMPDIR=<a writable directory>`, then run /review again.

<a id="review-fingerprint-stage"></a>
### `gstack-wtree: cannot stage the working tree: <git error>`

**Meaning.** The fingerprint's objects could not be written. Standalone
`gstack-wtree` writes into the repository's object store.

**Fix.** Run it through /review (`gstack-review-log` supplies a private object
directory), or make `.git/objects` writable.

<a id="plan-audit-not-run"></a>
### `Plan completion audit: not run (no plan is bound to this branch and no docs/designs/ file matches). Fix: ...`

**Meaning.** /ship and /review audit a PR against the plan bound to its branch
(plan mode, /autoplan, or a `Plan: <path>` line in the PR body). With none bound
and no matching `docs/designs/` file, they no longer pick the newest unrelated
plan; the audit is `not run`.

**Fix.** Add `Plan: docs/designs/<file>.md` to the PR body, or run /autoplan.

**Expected result.** The next /ship or /review prints the audit against that plan.

<a id="plan-eng-review-not-persisted"></a>
### `PERSISTED: no` / `PERSIST: gstack-review-log '{...}'` / `no saved Eng Review: run the PERSIST: line ...`

**Meaning.** /plan-eng-review ran where the caller forbids writes (for example
a delegating agent keeps the reviewer read-only, so it cannot edit the plan it
judges). The review completed: it ends `DONE` with `PERSISTED: no`, records
telemetry `success`, and returns the full report and decision ledger in its
reply. Nothing was saved, so /ship's readiness dashboard has no Eng Review
record and reports NOT CLEARED with "no saved Eng Review". A real failure (a
permitted save that failed, stale evidence) still ends `BLOCKED`.

**What is kept.** The reply holds the complete report; its last line is the
review-log command with this review's values.

**Fix.** From the reviewed repository, run the reply's last line without the
`PERSIST: ` prefix:

```bash
~/.claude/skills/gstack/bin/gstack-review-log '{"skill":"plan-eng-review",...}'
```

Or rerun /plan-eng-review where it may write its report and log.

**Expected result.** `gstack-review-read` lists the `plan-eng-review` entry and
/ship's dashboard shows the Eng Review row (CLEAR when its status is `clean`).

<a id="learnings-bun-missing"></a>
### `gstack-learnings-search: bun not found on PATH, so learnings could not be read. Fix: ...`

**Meaning.** Learnings search (and `gstack-timeline-read`, "the timeline") needs
Bun. It exits 127 instead of looking like "no learnings".

**Fix.** Install Bun from https://bun.sh, then `cd <gstack checkout> && ./setup`.

**Expected result.** Skills print your prior learnings again.

<a id="learnings-unavailable"></a>
### `LEARNINGS: unavailable (<first stderr line>)`

**Meaning.** A skill's learnings lookup failed (often Bun is missing). Skills
used to show nothing here, which looked like "no learnings".

**What is kept.** Your learnings file is untouched; the skill continues without them.

**Fix.** Read the reason in parentheses. If it names Bun, install it and re-run
`./setup`.

<a id="log-tmpdir-unwritable"></a>
### `gstack-learnings-log: could not create a temp file in <dir>, so the learning was not recorded. Fix: ...`

**Meaning.** The learnings, question and preference logs write through a temp
file in `${TMPDIR:-/tmp}`. A sandbox that blocks it used to drop the entry silently.

**Fix.** `export TMPDIR=<a writable directory>` and log again.

<a id="plan-tune-not-calibrated"></a>
### `CALIBRATION: not calibrated: no recorded signals`

**Meaning.** Your logged answers matched no psychographic signal, so /plan-tune
has nothing to calibrate from. It no longer says "calibrated".

**Fix.** Answer more registered questions, then `gstack-developer-profile --derive`.

<a id="skill-start-former-bucket"></a>
### `gstack: earlier data for this project is in projects/<slug> (a worktree's old bucket). Merge it: ...`

**Meaning.** Linked worktrees now share the main checkout's project identity.
Learnings and checkpoints a worktree wrote under its own old bucket still exist.

**Fix.** Merge them (logs are de-duplicated, conflicts listed, nothing overwritten):

```bash
gstack-slug --adopt-legacy --from <slug>
```

Or stop the reminder: `gstack-slug --adopt-legacy --dismiss <slug>`.

---

## Design skills

<a id="design-not-available"></a>
### `DESIGN_NOT_AVAILABLE: <path> --version exited <code>` (or `timed out after 10s`, `is not installed`, `no timeout/gtimeout/perl ...`)

**Meaning.** Design skills now run `"$D" --version` with a 10-second deadline
before claiming `DESIGN_READY`. Exit 137 means macOS killed the binary at launch
(a bad code signature); setup prints the same condition as
`design unavailable: <bin> is killed at launch (exit 137) after re-signing`.

**What is kept.** Nothing was generated or spent.

**Fix.** Re-run setup, which rebuilds and re-signs the binary:

```bash
cd <gstack checkout> && ./setup
```

If the message names a missing timeout tool, install coreutils (`gtimeout`) or perl.

**Expected result.** The next design skill prints `DESIGN_READY`.

<a id="design-image-model-invalid"></a>
### `GSTACK_DESIGN_IMAGE_MODEL="<value>" is not a gpt-image model name (expected something like gpt-image-2); fix it or unset it to use gpt-image-2`

**Meaning.** The design binary refuses an image tool model override that is not
a `gpt-image-*` model name, before sending any request.

**Fix.** `export GSTACK_DESIGN_IMAGE_MODEL=gpt-image-2` (or another gpt-image
model your key can use), or `unset GSTACK_DESIGN_IMAGE_MODEL`.

<a id="design-taste-profile-unavailable"></a>
### `TASTE_PROFILE_UNAVAILABLE: could not resolve the project slug (gstack-slug failed). Fix: run ./setup.`

**Meaning.** /design-consultation and /design-shotgun load your taste profile.
This says it could not be found, instead of acting as if you had none.

**Fix.** `cd <gstack checkout> && ./setup`.

<a id="design-variant-save-failed"></a>
### `cannot save paid image to <path>: <code> (<cause>). Image bytes were received; saved a recovery copy to <tmp path>. Fix: ...`

**Meaning.** The paid image generation succeeded but writing it to the output
path failed (disk, permissions, or every name through `-999` taken). gstack never
buys the same image twice and never overwrites an existing image.

**What is kept.** The image, at the printed recovery path in your temp directory.

**Fix.** Follow the printed fix (free disk space, make the folder writable, or
pick a new `--output`), then copy the recovery file to where you want it.

---

## Codex and other env-var hosts

<a id="gstack-no-install-found"></a>
### `gstack: no install found (tried <path>). Fix: ./setup --host <host> from your gstack checkout; ./setup --status shows it.`

**Meaning.** On Codex, Factory, OpenCode, Cursor, Copilot and Kiro every bash
block finds gstack on its own: an exported `GSTACK_ROOT` (with `bin/` and
`lib/`), then a repo-local install, then the host's global install
(`$CODEX_HOME/skills/gstack` on Codex). None existed.

**Fix.**

```bash
cd <gstack checkout> && ./setup --host codex   # or your host
./setup --status
```

**Expected result.** `./setup --status` lists the install and says the router is
a real file and its section links resolve.

<a id="setup-status-router-symlink"></a>
### `router is a symlink, which Codex skips` / `section links: N of M broken (first: ...)`

**Meaning.** `./setup --status` checks each registered install. Codex ignores a
symlinked SKILL.md, and a broken section link means a carved skill cannot load
its next step.

**Fix.** `cd <source> && ./setup --host <host>` (the command is printed).

<a id="setup-skill-copy-saved"></a>
### `saved your edited <path> to <backup> (setup rewrites gstack's SKILL.md copies on every run)`

**Meaning.** Installed router and nested SKILL.md files are now real copies,
rewritten by every setup. Your hand edit was saved first.

**What is kept.** Your edit, at `<backup>`. Move the customization into your own skill.

<a id="setup-skill-copy-backup-failed"></a>
### `error: could not back up an edited SKILL.md copy under <root>; the previous runtime root is unchanged`

**Fix.** Fix permissions on `<state root>/backups`, then `./setup --host <host>`.

<a id="upgrade-not-a-checkout"></a>
### `ERROR: <dir> is not a gstack checkout; nothing was changed. Re-run Step 2.` / `INSTALL_DIR is not set: re-run Step 2 ...`

**Meaning.** /gstack-upgrade now checks, before any git command, that it is
inside gstack's own checkout. A block ran without the path Step 2 printed, so it
stopped instead of touching your project.

**Fix.** Run Step 2 again and prefix the block with `INSTALL_DIR=<printed path>`.
On Windows (Git Bash) with `INSTALL_DIR` set correctly, older /gstack-upgrade
text compared two spellings of the same path and refused anyway; recover with
`cd <install dir> && git pull --ff-only --autostash && ./setup` (see
[the hook false positive](#setup-hook-does-not-parse)).

<a id="skill-over-size-limit"></a>
### `<host>/<skill>/SKILL.md is <bytes> bytes, over the 160,000-byte limit. Fix: carve sections with usesLazySections() for this skill.`

**Meaning.** For contributors: hosts read at most 160,000 bytes of one SKILL.md.
`bun run gen:skill-docs` fails in the repo and warns under `--install-root`.

---

## Setup and auto-update

<a id="bun-too-old"></a>
### `gstack needs Bun 1.3.3 or newer (1.4.2 recommended); found <version> at <path>. Nothing was installed or changed.`

**Meaning.** Bun older than 1.3.3 silently ignores the build flags that stop
gstack's compiled tools from reading a project's `.env`, so setup refuses it
before writing anything. The same link appears on two warnings that do not stop
setup: `warning: gstack is tested on Bun 1.4.2 (CI pin); found <version>` (1.3.3
up to 1.4.2 works but is untested) and `warning: could not read the Bun version
(...)` (setup continued; check `bun --version`).

**Fix.**

```bash
bun upgrade
./setup
```

**Expected result.** `bun --version` prints 1.4.2 or newer and setup finishes
with no Bun warning.

<a id="auto-update-bun-too-old"></a>
### `gstack auto-update: update held (bun-too-old: found Bun <version> at <path>; gstack <version> needs <floor> or newer); nothing was installed or changed. Fix now: ...`

**Meaning.** Team-mode auto-update fetched a release whose setup needs a newer
Bun than the one setup would run. It left your checkout and installed skills at
the current revision and prints this line once per session start. (An older
auto-updater running its first update cannot make this check.)

**Fix.** `bun upgrade`; the next session start resumes the update. To update
now: `bun upgrade && cd <gstack checkout> && git pull --ff-only && ./setup`.

<a id="auto-update-incomplete"></a>
### `gstack auto-update: setup did not finish (<reason>); installed skills may be out of date. gstack retries automatically. Fix now: cd <dir> && ./setup`

**Meaning.** The pull worked but setup (or migrations) failed. gstack no longer
says "just upgraded". It retries after 1 hour, then 6, then 24, and prints this
line once per session start. A `(bun not found on PATH)` reason means install
Bun first.

**What is kept.** The previous install stays active.

**Fix.** Run the printed command.

<a id="auto-update-pull-failed"></a>
### `gstack auto-update: git pull did not finish (exit N: ...); gstack is not updating. Fix now: ...`

**Fix.** `cd <gstack checkout> && git pull --ff-only && ./setup`.

<a id="setup-hook-does-not-parse"></a>
### `gstack setup: refusing to register hooks that do not parse (Claude Code would block tool calls with them): <file>:<line>: <error>`

**On Windows (Git Bash), from 1.91.31: a false positive.** If every
TypeScript hook fails with `bun could not bundle the TypeScript entry` (the
question-log, question-preference, auq-error-fallback and timeline-stop hooks,
`/autoplan`'s publication hook and `/plan-ceo-review`'s mode-handoff hook),
your hooks are fine. Git Bash handed Bun its paths as `C:/…` while the checker
looked them up as `/c/…` (#3088, #3100); the checker on main reads both
spellings. The same Git Bash spelling made `/gstack-upgrade` stop with
`ERROR: <dir> is not a gstack checkout; nothing was changed.` One recovery
covers both: update by hand, then run setup from the update.

```bash
cd ~/.claude/skills/gstack && git pull --ff-only --autostash && ./setup
```

Use your install directory if it is not `~/.claude/skills/gstack` (`./setup
--status` prints it). Expected result: setup finishes with exit 0 and no
refusal line, and later auto-updates go through.

**Meaning, everywhere else.** Claude Code runs gstack's hook shims through
`/bin/sh`, and a hook that does not parse exits 2, which blocks the tool call
it guards in every session. Setup parse-checks every hook it registers and
every hook a skill's frontmatter runs (`/autoplan`, `/careful`, `/freeze`,
`/guard`, `/investigate` and `/plan-ceo-review`): the shim, the gstack shell
helpers it sources (such as `careful/bin/hook-extract.sh` and
`bin/gstack-state-root.sh`), and the TypeScript it runs with its local imports.
A merge conflict marker line in any of those files fails as `unresolved merge
conflict marker`, even when the file still parses (markers inside a heredoc, a
string or a template literal do). The TypeScript is bundled from the gstack
checkout, so the `tsconfig.json` or `bunfig.toml` of the project you run it
from is never read. It registers the hooks that parse, skips the ones listed,
finishes the rest of the install, and exits non-zero. Claude Code runs hooks
straight from `~/.claude/skills/gstack`, so a skipped hook that an earlier
setup registered, or that a skill runs, keeps running the broken file until it
is fixed. This is a gstack bug, or a half-applied edit or merge in your
checkout: report the printed `<file>:<line>`.

**Fix.**

```bash
git -C ~/.claude/skills/gstack status   # half-applied edits or merge conflicts?
git -C ~/.claude/skills/gstack checkout -- <file>   # or finish the merge
cd ~/.claude/skills/gstack && ./setup
```

**Expected result.** Setup finishes with exit 0 and no refusal line.

<a id="auto-update-hook-does-not-parse"></a>
### `gstack auto-update: update held (hook-does-not-parse: <file>:<line>: <error>); nothing was installed or changed, and your current hooks keep running. ...`

**On Windows (Git Bash), from 1.91.31: a false positive.** If the held
reason is `<hook>.ts:1: bun could not bundle the TypeScript entry`, the
release is fine: your installed checker misread Git Bash's `C:/…` paths
(#3088, #3100), and the auto-updater checks every release with it, so it
holds every release until you update once by hand. Recovery (this also clears
`/gstack-upgrade`'s `is not a gstack checkout` refusal):

```bash
cd ~/.claude/skills/gstack && git pull --ff-only --autostash && ./setup
```

Use your install directory if it is not `~/.claude/skills/gstack`. Expected
result: setup finishes with exit 0, the next session start prints no held
line, and later updates install on their own.

**Meaning, everywhere else.** Team-mode auto-update fetched a release with a
hook that does not parse or still holds a merge conflict marker (the same
check setup runs). It checked the incoming revision before moving your
checkout, so your checkout, installed skills and registered hooks stay at the
current revision. The incoming release's own `bin/gstack-hook-check` decides,
so a checker bug in your install cannot hold later releases; your installed
checker decides only when the incoming one crashes, prints nothing or prints
a report it cannot verify. gstack checks again at the next update check and
installs the first release whose hooks parse. This is a gstack bug: report the
printed `<file>:<line>`.

**Fix.** Wait for the next release. A manual `git pull` followed by `./setup`
cannot be checked before the pull; setup then refuses the broken hook (see the
entry above).

<a id="auto-update-hook-check-unavailable"></a>
### `gstack auto-update: update held (hook-check-unavailable: <reason>); nothing was installed or changed, and your current hooks keep running. ... Fix now: cd <dir> && git pull --ff-only --autostash && ./setup ...`

**Meaning.** Neither the incoming release's hook checker nor your installed
one gave a verified report on the incoming hooks (a crash, no output, an
unreadable report, or no Bun to bundle the TypeScript hooks), so the
auto-updater cannot tell whether moving your checkout would break Claude Code
tool calls. It left your checkout, skills and hooks at the current revision.
The `<reason>` names what each checker did.

**Fix.** Run the printed command. Setup checks every hook it registers and
says what is wrong (for example that Bun is missing).

<a id="setup-runtime-root-contains-checkout"></a>
### `gstack setup: refusing to replace <root> for <host>: this runtime directory contains the source checkout setup runs from (<checkout>), so replacing it would delete the checkout. Nothing was changed.`

**Meaning.** Setup installs Codex, Factory, OpenCode, Cursor, Copilot and
Antigravity by building a runtime root (such as `~/.cursor/skills/gstack`) and
swapping it in for the old one, and Kiro by writing into `~/.kiro/skills/gstack`.
Your gstack checkout lives at that root or inside it, so the swap would delete
the checkout (#3084), and Kiro would link the checkout into itself. Setup refuses before
writing anything. `./setup --status` and `gstack-doctor` suggest the move for
that host instead of `./setup --host <host>`.

**Fix.** Move the checkout out, then run setup from its new place. Setup
prints the exact commands. When `~/.claude/skills/gstack` is a symlink to the
checkout, the checkout takes the symlink's place:

```bash
rm ~/.claude/skills/gstack && mv ~/.cursor/skills/gstack ~/.claude/skills/gstack
cd ~/.claude/skills/gstack && ./setup --host claude && ./setup --host cursor
```

Otherwise move it anywhere outside the host's skills directory:

```bash
mv ~/.cursor/skills/gstack ~/gstack && cd ~/gstack && ./setup --host cursor
```

**Expected result.** Both setups finish with exit 0, and `./setup --status`
lists each host as `current`.

<a id="host-renders-pruned"></a>
### `pruned <dir> (<host> is not installed from this checkout): ...` / `kept <path>: not proven generated (...)` / `host-render backup: <dir> (...)`

**Meaning.** A gstack checkout keeps skills only for the agents installed from
it, listed in `.gstack-installed-hosts` in the checkout (#1694). Older installs
rendered every agent's copy, so a global Claude install carried 632 `SKILL.md`
files (34.7 MB) that Claude Code and Cursor-agent scan. setup removed the copy
for an agent that is not installed from this checkout. Generated files were
moved to the backup directory it printed; links into the checkout were removed;
files it could not prove gstack generated (`kept ...`) were left in place.
`prune.log` in the backup lists every path. The same prune runs once from the
upgrade migration. Agents in the record are never pruned.

**Fix.** Nothing, if you don't use that agent. To get an agent back, install
it from this checkout, which records it and renders its skills:

```bash
./setup --host <name>
```

For an instruction-only agent you render by hand (Hermes, OpenClaw, GBrain),
add its name to `.gstack-installed-hosts` first, then run
`bun run gen:skill-docs --host <name>`. To restore one file, `mv` it back from
the backup. A `kept` file is yours: move or delete it when you no longer need it.
The backup sits in gstack's state root, which no agent scans; delete it once
you are sure you don't need it (about 36 MB for a pre-1.91.65 Claude install).

**Expected result.** The next `./setup` prints no `pruned` line, and
`./setup --status` lists the agents you use.

<a id="cso-windows-msvc-compile"></a>
### `CSO unavailable: its native helper was not built (windows-msvc-compile)`

**Meaning.** Visual Studio's compiler was found but the /cso native helper did
not compile. setup prints the first compiler error. It used to say "install
Visual Studio".

**Fix.** Fix the printed compiler error, then re-run `./setup`.

<a id="cso-build-or-publish-failed"></a>
### `CSO unavailable: the native helper's <stage> step failed (...)` / `CSO publish step failed (...) for <revision>; previous CSO kept: <revision>`

**Meaning.** The /cso native helper is optional. Its build prerequisites were
present, but the `build` step (compiling the helper) or the `publish` step
(swapping the new helper into `bin/` under a lock) failed. setup used to stop
here (#3071); now it finishes everything else and says which step failed. When
an earlier helper was installed and the failed publish restored it, setup
prints `previous CSO kept` and /cso keeps using that helper; otherwise /cso
reports `not assessed`. `interrupted` means the step was killed before it could
record a result. The outcome is in `bin/.gstack-cso-build-result`, and
`gstack-doctor`'s `cso` row reads the same record. The build output is in
`bin/.gstack-cso-build.log`.

**Fix.** Read the log, fix what it reports, then retry from your gstack checkout:

```bash
bun run build:cso && ./setup
```

On Windows, setup and the build use PowerShell 7 (`pwsh`) when it is installed
and fall back to Windows PowerShell 5.1. The root cause of the staged files
vanishing during publish in #3071 is still unknown; attach the log there if you
hit it. CI sets `GSTACK_STRICT_BUILD=1`, which makes these failures fatal so
build regressions cannot hide.

**Expected result.** setup prints no CSO line, and the doctor's `cso` row is
`ok`.

<a id="cso-windows-docker"></a>
### `Docker found at <path>, but native Windows Docker transport is not supported yet; static assessment only.` / `docker.exe at <path> is outside the trusted install locations (...)`

**Meaning.** On Windows, /cso looks for `docker.exe` only under the install
folders Windows reports for Program Files, Program Files (x86) and the Windows
directory, by its real path, with no symlink or junction on the way. A
user-writable directory is untrusted, because the Docker child carries
registry credentials; that refusal cannot be overridden.

Even a trusted `docker.exe` cannot run /cso's isolated containers yet: /cso
admits only a local Unix Docker socket, and Docker Desktop on Windows speaks
over a named pipe. /cso reports this and runs its static assessment only; no
container or runtime check runs.

**Fix.** For runtime checks, run /cso from Linux or macOS (WSL2 counts as
Linux) with a local Docker socket. On Windows, static assessment is the
supported mode; if the refusal named a user directory, install Docker Desktop
under Program Files.

<a id="cso-capacity"></a>
### `Snapshot manifest cap exceeded: ...` / `64 MiB source cap exceeded: ...` / `Symlink or special source file: <path>`

**Meaning.** /cso copies the repository into a private snapshot before any
audit starts, and refuses the whole run when the snapshot would be incomplete
or too large. Each message names the cap that applied:

- **Snapshot manifest cap (16 MiB).** One entry per tracked or nonignored
  untracked file; about 50,000 files fit.
- **64 MiB source cap.** The full size of every such file outside dependency
  and VCS directories counts, including files over 1 MiB whose contents are
  withheld from the audit.
- **Symlinks.** A tracked symlink anywhere in the repository stops the run.

**Fix.** No setting raises these caps. Run /cso on a smaller checkout that
holds the code you want audited and no symlinks. Add your file count or size to
[#2993](https://github.com/garrytan/gstack/issues/2993).

<a id="conductor-auq-hook-removed"></a>
### `removed the AskUserQuestion preference hook: it breaks Conductor's native AskUserQuestion (#2207). ...`

**Meaning.** In Conductor, setup no longer installs the plan-tune
question-preference hook and removes one it added before. The other plan-tune
hooks stay.

**Fix.** To keep it anyway: `gstack-config set plan_tune_hooks yes`, then `./setup`.

<a id="browse-extension-id-invalid"></a>
### `Error: browse_extension_id '<v>' is not a Chrome extension ID ... Existing value left unchanged.`

**Fix.** Copy the 32-letter ID (letters a to p) from `chrome://extensions`, then
`gstack-config set browse_extension_id <id>`.

---

## Install check (`gstack-doctor --check`) and the Capy installer

`gstack-doctor --check` prints one `PASS | FAIL | SKIP <id>` row per component
and ends with `gstack: ok <revision> for=<workflow>` (exit 0) or
`gstack: fail <id,id>` (exit 1). Every FAIL row carries a `fix:` clause and one
of the codes below. Read the trailer directly; never pipe `--check` through
`tail` or another command whose exit status would replace the doctor's
(docs/capy-install.md).

<a id="doctor-component-missing"></a>
### `FAIL <id> — <detail>; fix: <command> (COMPONENT_MISSING; ...)`

**Meaning.** A component the selected workflow needs (`--for <skill>`,
`--require <csv>`, or by default every host profile installed from this
checkout) is not installed, not built, not current, or not authenticated. The
row names it: `claude` or `codex` (a host profile missing or stale), `patch`
(the Codex render lacks the model behavioral patch), `codex-cli` (the Codex CLI
is required and absent or not logged in), `browse-bundle`, `browser` (Chromium
does not launch or render), `cso` (the native helper is required and not
built).

**Fix.** Run the command in the row's `fix:` clause. For `browser`, that is
`<checkout>/bin/gstack-browser-ensure`, which installs Chromium on first use
when the installer skipped it (`SKIP browser (lazy; ...)`).

**Expected result.** The row turns `PASS` and the trailer reads `gstack: ok`.

<a id="doctor-runtime-below-minimum"></a>
### `FAIL runtime — bun <version> ... (RUNTIME_BELOW_MINIMUM; ...)`

**Meaning.** The Bun on `PATH` is absent, below gstack's security floor
(1.3.3: older Bun ignores the no-autoload compile flags, see
[bun-too-old](#bun-too-old)) or below the supported minimum (1.4.2, the CI pin
and `engines.bun`). The dashboard (`gstack-doctor` without `--check`) warns on
an untested version; `--check` fails it, because a gate run on an untested
runtime is the incident this check exists for. The default Capy cloud image
ships 1.3.14, so a fresh Capy machine fails here until the installer upgrades
Bun.

**Fix.** `bin/gstack-capy-install` upgrades Bun through setup's
checksum-verified recipe before running `./setup`. By hand: download
`https://bun.sh/install`, verify its SHA-256 against `GSTACK_BUN_INSTALL_SHA`
in `bin/gstack-bun-version.sh`, then `BUN_VERSION=1.4.2 bash <file>` and
re-run `./setup`.

<a id="doctor-project-pin-mismatch"></a>
### `FAIL pins — bun <version> outside engines.bun >=1.4.2 (package.json:<line>; ...) (PROJECT_PIN_MISMATCH; ...)`

**Meaning.** The target project (`--project <path>`, default the git toplevel
of the current directory, never the gstack checkout) pins a Bun or Node
version the running one does not satisfy. Pins come from `package.json`
(`packageManager`, `engines`), `.tool-versions`, `.nvmrc`, `.bun-version` and
`bun-version:` / `node-version:` lines in `.github/workflows/*.yml`. A range
(`>=1.4.2`) and an exact pin are told apart, and a CI pin keeps its platform
lane: a Windows job's pin never fails a Linux run. The dashboard warns; `--check`
fails. The row is `SKIP pins (no bun to evaluate the project pins)` when Bun
is absent, never silent.

**Fix.** Install the pinned version for this platform (the row names each
constraint with its source), or change the project's pin.

<a id="doctor-revision-unmet"></a>
### `FAIL revision — installed <version> (requested <ref>) (REVISION_UNMET; ...)`

**Meaning.** `--revision <ref>` asked the doctor to certify a specific gstack
revision (a VERSION string, tag, branch or commit) and the checkout is at
another. An unmet revision is never `ok`.

**Fix.** Move the checkout: `<checkout>/bin/gstack-upgrade` (the tip of the default
branch; `/gstack-upgrade` interactively), or
`git -C <checkout> fetch origin && git -C <checkout> checkout <ref> && ./setup`.
`bin/gstack-capy-install --revision <ref>` never moves an existing checkout; it
reports `gstack: ok <installed> (requested <ref>; run <checkout>/bin/gstack-upgrade to move)`.

<a id="capy-install-runtime-conflict"></a>
### `gstack-capy-install: Bun conflict: gstack needs >=<minimum>, <project> pins <constraint> (RUNTIME_PIN_CONFLICT; ...)`

**Meaning.** The installer installs one verified Bun archive: gstack's
supported minimum, or the project's exact pin when that pin is above the
minimum and listed in the message's `verified archives:`. Here the two do not
meet (for example the project pins `bun@1.3.14`, or a version gstack has no
verified archive for), so the installer changed nothing and stopped before
`./setup`.

**Fix.** Pin a verified version in the project, upgrade gstack to a release
that verifies the pinned version, or install gstack on a machine whose Bun the
project accepts. `--project <path>` names
the project whose pins apply.

<a id="browser-ensure-failed"></a>
### `gstack-browser-ensure: NEEDS_SETUP ... (BROWSER_UNAVAILABLE; ...)`

**Meaning.** The first browser skill run on a machine installed without
Chromium (`SKIP browser (lazy; gstack-browser-ensure installs on first use)`)
tried to install it through `bunx playwright install chromium` under setup's
lock, or Chromium is installed but does not launch.

**Fix.** Read the installer output above: offline or proxied machines need
network access to the Playwright CDN; on Ubuntu 24.04+ an AppArmor
user-namespace error needs `GSTACK_CHROMIUM_NO_SANDBOX=1`; then re-run
`<checkout>/bin/gstack-browser-ensure`. `--with-browser` on the installer
front-loads the install on machines that want it now.

<a id="capy-install-preflight-failed"></a>
### `gstack-capy-install: preflight: <tool> not found (INSTALL_PREFLIGHT_FAILED; ...)`

**Meaning.** The installer checks `git`, `curl`, `node` and `jq` before
`./setup`, and installs Bun when it is absent or below the supported minimum.
One of them is missing, or the Bun install script's checksum did not match
`GSTACK_BUN_INSTALL_SHA` (the download is discarded, nothing runs).

**Fix.** Install the named tool (`apt-get install -y jq`, Node from nodejs.org
or nvm), then re-run `bin/gstack-capy-install`. A checksum mismatch means the
upstream installer changed: update `GSTACK_BUN_INSTALL_SHA` only after
reviewing the new script.

<a id="upgrade-refused"></a>
### `gstack-upgrade: <cause>; nothing was changed; fix: <command> (UPGRADE_REFUSED)`

**Meaning.** `bin/gstack-upgrade` moves a checkout only by fast-forward to the
tip of its remote default branch. It refused before changing anything: the
directory is not a gstack checkout, HEAD is detached or on another branch (a
pin), a tracked file is modified, a local commit is not on the remote branch,
the incoming release's Bun floor is above the Bun on PATH, or another updater
holds `<state root>/.setup-lock`. It never stashes, resets or discards.

**Fix.** Resolve the named cause with the printed command (commit or move the
listed changes, check out the default branch, move local commits to another
branch), then re-run `bin/gstack-upgrade`. A reinstall that failed after the
fast-forward is completed by the next run (`reinstall pending from <version>`).

<a id="upgrade-fetch-failed"></a>
### `gstack-upgrade: could not reach origin (...) (UPGRADE_FETCH_FAILED)`

**Meaning.** The remote default branch could not be listed or fetched (offline,
proxy, credentials), so `--check` cannot say whether the checkout is current.
It never reports `current` without the fetch.

**Fix.** Check network access to the checkout's origin
(`git -C <checkout> remote -v`), then re-run.

<a id="revision-below-minimum"></a>
### `gstack: fail revision — installed <v> is below the supported minimum <m> (<cause>); fix: ... (REVISION_BELOW_MINIMUM)`

**Meaning.** `capy/support.env` on the remote default branch declares the
oldest revision whose installer, trailer and fix lines are honest
(`GSTACK_MIN_REVISION`), and this checkout is older. The Capy skill
bootstrapper reads it from `FETCH_HEAD`, so even a checkout that predates the
file learns it. `--check` only reports (`fast-forward available`); install
mode fast-forwards a clean, unpinned checkout, reinstalls and rechecks under
one lock. The cause names why nothing moved: `pinned by --revision`, `pinned:
HEAD is detached`, `tracked files changed: <files>`, `diverged: ...` or
`auto-upgrade disabled` (`GSTACK_CAPY_AUTO_UPGRADE=0`). `gstack-doctor --check
--min-revision <m>` fails the revision row the same way.

**Fix.** Run the fix clause: the bootstrapper without `--check`, or
`<checkout>/bin/gstack-upgrade`. For a pin, drop `--revision` or pin a
revision at or above the minimum. An interrupted install after the
fast-forward leaves the trailer `fail`; the next install run completes it.

<a id="capy-wrapper-stale"></a>
### `gstack-capy-skill: owner action — Drive copy is wrapper <n>, minimum <m>; copy <root>/capy/skill/gstack/ (CAPY_WRAPPER_STALE)`

**Meaning.** The Capy skill folder that ran (the bootstrapper's
`GSTACK_CAPY_WRAPPER`) is older than the checkout's `GSTACK_CAPY_MIN_WRAPPER`.
The run continues through the checkout's own wrapper (`bin/gstack-capy-session`);
only a checkout with no such wrapper refuses (`gstack: fail wrapper`).

**Fix.** The owner copies `<checkout>/capy/skill/gstack/` over the skill folder
(on Capy, the user-scope Drive `skills/gstack/`). Agents never write it.

<a id="install-unverified"></a>
### `INSTALL: fail verdict — <detail>; fix: ... (INSTALL_UNVERIFIED)`

**Meaning.** On a Capy machine (`GSTACK_CAPY=1`, set by the `GSTACK_LAUNCH`
line), an unattended or spawned workflow starts only with a passing install
verdict (`<state root>/install-verdicts/<sha256 of the checkout path>.json`,
named as `GSTACK_INSTALL_VERDICT`) for this checkout, its current HEAD and a
workflow at least as wide as the one starting: a verdict for `--for autoplan`
does not cover `qa`'s browser, and a planning-only pins SKIP does not cover a
workflow that runs the repo's tests. `gstack-skill-start` printed this row and
`GSTACK_RESULT: skill=<s> status=refused run=-`, exit 3. The same start refuses
an unattended run whose Bun on PATH is below the supported minimum
(`INSTALL: fail runtime ... (RUNTIME_BELOW_MINIMUM)`) on any host.

**Fix.** Run the Capy skill installer with `--for <workflow>` on this machine
and launch with the `GSTACK_LAUNCH` line it prints.
`GSTACK_ALLOW_UNSUPPORTED_RUNTIME=1` admits anyway (printed as
`INSTALL_VERDICT: overridden`); record it as a deviation.

---

## Browser

<a id="browse-runtime-version-skew"></a>
### `[browse] this install's browse CLI (<root>, build <hash>) and the gstack checkout's server bundle (<checkout>, build <hash>) are from different builds, so the server was not started. ...`

**Meaning.** On Windows a host runtime root (`~/.codex/skills/gstack` and the
other env-var hosts) holds a copy of browse with no `node_modules`, so its CLI
starts the server bundle in the gstack checkout recorded in `.source-path`.
The checkout was rebuilt (or updated) without refreshing this runtime root, so
the two builds differ and browse refuses rather than run a mismatched server.

**Fix.** Re-run setup from the checkout named in the message; it rebuilds and
refreshes every runtime root:

```bash
cd <checkout> && ./setup
```

<a id="browse-chain-no-flow"></a>
### `[browse] chain: no flow to run (stdin was empty)` (or `stdin is a terminal`, `stdin could not be read (EAGAIN)`)

**Meaning.** `browse chain` with no arguments runs the JSON flow piped to it.
Nothing arrived, so it exits 1 before starting a browser. It used to exit 0 on
Windows having run nothing.

**Fix.** Pipe the flow, or pass it as an argument:

```bash
echo '[["goto","https://example.com"],["text"]]' | browse chain
browse chain 'goto https://example.com | text'
```

<a id="browse-chromium-path-failed"></a>
### `Chromium at GSTACK_CHROMIUM_PATH=<path> failed to launch: ...`

**Meaning.** Headless browse and make-pdf now use `GSTACK_CHROMIUM_PATH`
(NixOS, macOS 13). That binary could not start.

**Fix.** Point `GSTACK_CHROMIUM_PATH` at a working Chromium, or
`unset GSTACK_CHROMIUM_PATH` to use gstack's bundled one.

<a id="browse-profile-in-use"></a>
### `Headed Chromium profile <dir> is in use by Chromium PID <pid> (started by PID <ppid>: <name>). ...`

**Meaning.** Headed browse keeps one profile per project
(`<project>/.gstack/chromium-profile`). A live browser owns this one, and
browse never kills it. `... is locked by PID <pid> on another host (<host>)`
means the lock came from another machine through a synced folder.

**Fix.** Close that browser, or `export CHROMIUM_PROFILE=<another dir>`. For the
other-host case, stop it there, or remove `<dir>/SingletonLock` once you are
sure nothing uses it.

<a id="browse-profile-per-project"></a>
### `[browse] Headed browse now keeps a profile per project ...`

**Meaning.** First use copies your logins from `~/.gstack/chromium-profile`
when no browser is using it; otherwise it starts fresh and prints how to import.
`browse profiles` lists them, `browse profiles prune --days 30` removes idle ones.

<a id="browse-blocked-address"></a>
### `Blocked: <host> is a cloud metadata or link-local address` / `... resolves to a cloud metadata or link-local address`

**Meaning.** Browse refuses 169.254.0.0/16 (including container credential
endpoints), 100.100.100.200, fe80::/10 and fc00::/7 in every numeric spelling,
including after a redirect or a page-driven navigation. The tab is reset to
`about:blank` and the command fails. This cannot be overridden.

<a id="browse-forbidden-origin"></a>
### `forbidden origin` from the sidebar terminal

**Meaning.** The terminal accepts only gstack's extension. A self-built or forked
extension has a different ID. `BROWSE_EXTENSION_ID` is no longer read.

**Fix.** `gstack-config set browse_extension_id <your 32-letter id>`.

<a id="browse-type-selector-hint"></a>
### `hint: "<word>" looks like a CSS selector`

**Meaning.** Bare `browse type <text>` types into the focused element. The first
word looked like a selector, so it was typed as text.

**Fix.** `browse type --selector '<sel>' <text>` (put text that starts with `--`
after `--`).

<a id="browse-server-node-missing"></a>
### `server-node.mjs not found. Run bun run build` (Windows)

**Fix.** `cd <gstack checkout> && bun run build`.

<a id="freeze-helpers-out-of-date"></a>
### `[freeze] Hook helpers out of date (partial upgrade?)`

**Meaning.** `check-freeze.sh` and `hook-extract.sh` come from different gstack versions.

**Fix.** `cd <gstack checkout> && ./setup` (or `/unfreeze`).

<a id="browse-chromium-pid-unrecorded"></a>
### `[browse] Could not record the Chromium PID (CDP SystemInfo.getProcessInfo: <error>); browse stop cannot reap a surviving Chromium.`

**Meaning.** For a headless Chromium it launched, browse reads the browser's
process id over CDP so `browse stop` can kill a browser that outlives the
server. That read failed or took longer than 2 seconds, so this session's
browser is not recorded. Browsers gstack did not launch are never recorded or
killed.

**Fix.** After `browse stop`, check for a leftover browser with
`ps aux | grep -i chrom` and end it with `kill <pid>`.

---

## Windows

<a id="windows-smart-app-control"></a>
### `Windows blocked compiled gstack binaries at launch (Smart App Control or another application-control policy, #2595)` / `bash: .../browse.exe: Permission denied`

**Meaning.** Known issue (#2595, #2124). gstack compiles five binaries on your
machine with Bun: `browse`, `find-browse`, `design`, `pdf` and
`gstack-global-discover`. They are unsigned, and a binary built on one machine
never earns the reputation Smart App Control accepts instead of a signature, so
Windows 11 with Smart App Control on refuses to start them. Git Bash reports
that as `Permission denied`, which looks like a file-permission problem but is
code integrity (PowerShell says `An Application Control policy has blocked this
file`). setup now runs each binary's `--version` and names the blocked ones and
the skills that need them: the gstack browser fallback (`/browse`, `/qa`,
`/qa-only`, `/design-review`, `/canary`, `/benchmark`, `/pair-agent`,
`/scrape`, `/make-pdf`), the design binary (`/design-consultation`,
`/design-shotgun`, `/design-html`, `/plan-design-review`) and `/retro global`.
Every other skill works. `gstack-doctor` shows the same state in its
`browse bundle` and `binaries` rows. The exact Windows error text has not been
verified on a Smart App Control machine; setup prints the raw first line beside
its classification.

**Fix.** There is no per-file allowlist for Smart App Control. Today's options:

- Run gstack inside WSL (`wsl --install`, then install gstack in the Linux
  distro). WSL runs gstack's Linux build, which Smart App Control does not check.
- Or turn Smart App Control off in Windows Security > App & browser control >
  Smart App Control settings. On Windows 11 with the April 2026 update you can
  turn it back on later without reinstalling Windows; on older builds turning it
  off is permanent. gstack's binaries stay blocked whenever it is on.

Signed release binaries are the real fix and are tracked in `TODOS.md`. After
Windows allows the binaries, re-run `./setup`; the message goes away.

**Expected result.** setup prints no "Windows blocked" line, and
`gstack-doctor` shows `ok` for `browse bundle` and `binaries`.

---

## Memory and gbrain

Every message below is also in [docs/gbrain-sync-errors.md](gbrain-sync-errors.md)
with more detail, along with the per-page ingest messages (`FAILED`,
`re-queued`, `quarantined`, reconcile progress, kept-on-this-machine notices).

<a id="gbrain-db-unreachable"></a>
### `database host unreachable (<code> <host>); your gbrain config is unchanged. Fix: check network or VPN, then re-run /sync-gbrain.`

**Meaning.** A DNS or connection error reaching your gbrain database. It used to
look like a broken config, and setup stripped brain features while offline.

**Fix.** Restore the network or VPN, then `/sync-gbrain`.

<a id="memory-ingest-unattributed-failures"></a>
### `[memory-ingest] ERR: gbrain reported N failure(s) it did not attribute to a staged page ... Refusing to advance state.`

**What is kept.** Nothing is marked saved, so nothing is lost. After three such
runs gstack bisects the batch and quarantines the page that breaks it.

**Fix.** Re-run `/sync-gbrain`.

<a id="memory-reconcile-not-run"></a>
### `[memory-ingest] reconcile: not run (...)`

**Meaning.** After upgrading, gstack re-checks transcripts it had marked saved
and re-imports the ones missing from your brain. That check needs a local gbrain.

**Fix.** `/setup-gbrain`, then `gstack-memory-ingest --reconcile` (`--dry-run` to preview).

<a id="memory-ingest-locked"></a>
### `[memory-ingest] ERR: another memory ingest (pid <N>) is writing <state file>; not run.`

**Fix.** Wait for it to finish, then re-run `/sync-gbrain`.

<a id="memory-ingest-state-unsaved"></a>
### `[memory-ingest] ERR: could not save ingest state <path>: <error>.`

**Fix.** Fix permissions or free disk space under your gstack state root, then `/sync-gbrain`.

<a id="memory-ingest-transcript-checkout"></a>
### `[memory-ingest] kept N transcript page(s) for <repo> on this machine: gbrain source <id> ...`

On a managed gbrain brain (0.60+), an import lands only in a source bound to a
checkout this host owns, so gstack binds each transcript source to its own
checkout, `<state root>/gbrain-transcript-sources/<id>/`, before importing.
The partition stays on this machine, unstamped, and imports on a later run when:

- **held by another owner**: the source is bound to another host or another
  directory. gstack never takes it over. Inspect it with
  `gbrain sources writer status --source <id> --json`; the owner releases it
  (`gbrain sources writer transfer prepare <id>` on the owning host) or you
  re-bind it here with `gbrain sources set-path <id> <checkout>`.
- **the state root is ephemeral** (`GSTACK_EPHEMERAL=1`): a binding would point
  at a directory that vanishes with the machine. Run with a durable root:
  `GSTACK_STATE_ROOT=<durable directory> gstack-memory-ingest --bulk`.
- **bound to gstack's checkout, but it is missing or not active**: restore the
  checkout from a backup of the state root, or follow `gbrain doctor --json`.
- **could not bind**: the message carries gbrain's refusal; inspect the source
  with the writer status command above.

<a id="gbrain-artifacts-not-indexed"></a>
### `curated artifacts pushed to git, but gbrain source <id> has 0 indexed pages. Fix: gbrain sync --source <id>, then re-run /sync-gbrain`

**Fix.** `gbrain sync --source <id>`, then `/sync-gbrain`.

<a id="gbrain-dream-skipped"></a>
### `dream: skipped — the installed gbrain cannot run only the resolve_symbol_edges phase, and the full dream cycle costs about 35 minutes ...`

**Meaning.** `/sync-gbrain --dream` (and `--full`'s auto-build) now runs only the
call-graph phase. Your gbrain cannot scope it, so nothing ran.

**Fix.** `gstack-gbrain-install`, then `/sync-gbrain --dream`. Or run the full
cycle yourself: `gbrain dream --source <id>`.

<a id="gbrain-cycle-freshness-unknown"></a>
### `call graph for <source>: unknown: installed gbrain does not expose cycle_freshness`

**Fix.** `gstack-gbrain-install`.

<a id="gbrain-path-unavailable"></a>
### `[gbrain-sync] gbrain source <id>: path unavailable (<path>); gstack skips it.`

**Meaning.** A deleted worktree's code source. gstack never removes it on its own.

**Fix.** Preview, then remove the ones gstack can prove belonged to this machine:

```bash
gstack-gbrain-sync --prune-gone-worktrees --dry-run
gstack-gbrain-sync --prune-gone-worktrees
```

---

## Eval reports and pass-rates

These come from the paid eval census reports and `bun run eval:pass-rates`.
The walkthrough for a red census is [docs/evals/census-red.md](evals/census-red.md).

<a id="pass-rates-unknown-flag"></a>
### `eval:pass-rates: unknown flag <flag>` / `eval:pass-rates: unknown case <id> (not an E2E, judge or paid test file id)`

**Meaning.** The flag or case id is not recognized. The command exits 2 before
fetching anything.

**Fix.** `bun run eval:pass-rates --help` lists the flags. `--case` takes a
registry id from `test/helpers/touchfiles-data.ts` or a paid test file path.

<a id="failure-cause-newer"></a>
### `unknown failure_cause "<x>" (written by a newer gstack; update this checkout to read it)`

**Meaning.** A trial record names a failure cause this checkout does not know.
A newer gstack wrote it.

**Fix.** `git pull` (or rebase your branch onto `main`), then rerun the command.

<a id="paid-case-several-owners"></a>
### `--case <id>: registered by <file>, <file>; it needs exactly one`

**Meaning.** More than one paid test file registers the case, so
`test-paid-shards.ts --case` cannot pick one file.

**Fix.** Run the red shard's file directly; the report's `after a repair:` line
prints it: `EVALS=1 EVALS_TIER=<tier> bun test <file>`.

<a id="evidence-too-large"></a>
### `evidence: <artifact> too large to fetch (<N> MB)`

**Meaning.** The slice artifact holding this red's transcript is over 64 MB, so
`eval:pass-rates --run` does not download it.

**Fix.** Download it from the run page, or
`gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/actions/artifacts/<artifact id>/zip > slice.zip`.

<a id="headroom-alarm"></a>
### `[headroom] <case> session <key>: max <s> of <s> (<pct>) over <n> sample(s), above the 85% cap. Cut work in the skill or fixture; budgets are never raised ...`

**Meaning.** `eval:pass-rates --gate` (the weekly report) found a case whose
slowest session used more than 85% of the timeout it armed. It is one timeout
away from a red.

**Fix.** Cut work in the skill or fixture. Budgets are never raised. Check the
case with `bun run eval:pass-rates --headroom --case <id>`.

<a id="cost-unknown"></a>
### `cost unknown (no billing captured for any of <N> trial(s))` / `cost $<x> known + <N> of <M> trial(s) cost unknown`

**Meaning.** PTY and Codex sessions record no billing, so their cost is
unknown. Only the known sum is shown.

**Fix.** None needed; this is informational.

<a id="cause-provider-stall"></a>
### `· cause provider_stall: no stream event for <N>s ...`

**Meaning.** The session streamed partial messages, then received no event of
any kind for at least 120 seconds while a model request was in flight and no
tool, permission prompt, hook or subagent was outstanding. Under EVAL_POLICY v1
it is still a failed trial.

**Fix.** Inspect it with `bun run eval:pass-rates --run <run id> --case <id>`.
A paid rerun happens only after a repair.

<a id="overlay-wrong-answer"></a>
### Overlay record with `taskCorrect: false` and `answerError` (contract v4)

**Meaning.** The trial completed with a wrong answer. Under overlay contract v4
that is a valid measurement in the comparison; only an overlay-ON wrong answer
fails the case.

**Fix.** Read `answerError` in the trial JSON. No rerun is needed.

<a id="detector-corpora-stale"></a>
### `[detector-corpora] <N> stale entries (refresh from a current census when one fails)`

**Meaning.** Some replay-corpus entries came from an older input series of
their case. This is informational; the corpus still replays them.

**Fix.** When that case goes red in a census, add the new capture to its corpus
and check it with `bun test test/detector-corpus-<case>.test.ts`.

<a id="auq-substance-panel"></a>
### `recommendation substance median <x> < 4 over samples [<a>,<b>,<c>] (boilerplate/weak)`

**Meaning.** The auq-matrix case scores each captured question's recommendation
with a 3-sample judge panel; fewer than 2 of the 3 samples reached 4, so their
median was below 4.

**Fix.** Read the logged samples and the captured question. A fix goes in the
skill text, followed by one diagnostic run of auq-matrix.

---

## Push guard (redaction)

<a id="redact-postgres-default-pair"></a>
### `db.url_with_password` HIGH on a default `postgres`/`postgres` login whose host is a service name like `@db` (pre-push BLOCKED)

**Meaning.** The default `postgres:postgres` pair is exempt only on `localhost`
or `127.0.0.1`. A service name like `@db` says nothing about where the URL ends
up deployed, so it still blocks.

**Fix.** Use `postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/...` in local and CI
config, or read the URL from an env var. If the credential is real, rotate it.
Bypass once: `GSTACK_REDACT_PREPUSH=skip git push`.
If the URL is a reviewed, public dev-only value, list it in
[`.gstack-redact-allowlist`](#redact-allowlist).

<a id="redact-allowlist"></a>
### `.gstack-redact-allowlist (<n> entries) suppressed <m> finding(s) in this push`

**Meaning.** The pushed commit carries `.gstack-redact-allowlist` at the repo
root. Each line (after trimming; `#` starts a comment) is one exact matched
span: the whole `postgres://USER:PASSWORD@host:port` URL for
`db.url_with_password`, the key for a key pattern, the address for `pii.email`. A finding is suppressed only when its
matched text equals an entry, so a password alone, a substring, or a different
key still reports and still blocks. The hook reads the file from each pushed
commit, never the working tree, and ignores a file over 64 KiB. Every push that
carries entries prints this line and each suppressed finding's file and line.
It works alongside `gstack.redact.allowEmail`, which stays a local setting.

**Fix.** Nothing, if every listed suppression is the reviewed value. Remove an
entry that no longer applies; rotate a credential that is real.

<a id="redact-version-as-ip"></a>
### `pii.ip_public` MEDIUM on a four-part version number

**Meaning.** The line does not declare the value as a version.

**Fix.** Write it as `version: 1.2.3.4`, `"version": "..."` or `v1.2.3.4`.
MEDIUM findings do not block pushes.

<a id="redact-prepush-email"></a>
### `MEDIUM  pii.email  <file>:<line>` from the pre-push hook

**Meaning.** The pushed lines add an email address that is not yours and not
already in the destination's commit metadata. The hook does not report your
own address (`git config user.email`), addresses listed in
`gstack.redact.allowEmail`, or author and committer addresses (mailmapped too)
from the history of the pushed commits, of the remote tip being replaced, and,
for a new branch pushed to a configured remote, of that remote's tracking refs.
An address only another remote knows still reports. If the hook also printed
`existing-email suppression was limited for this push`, it could not read the
history in 5 seconds, so known authors may be listed too.

**Fix.** Remove the address, or allow it for this repo:
`git config --add gstack.redact.allowEmail <address>`. If it is your own
address, check `git config user.email`. The allowlist only covers `pii.email`;
it never lets a HIGH finding through.

## Unattended runs and artifacts

Workflow commands (`gstack-artifact`, `gstack-gate`, `gstack-autoplan-timing`,
`gstack-review-log --findings`) end each error line with a code in
parentheses, for example `(ARTIFACT_STALE)`. The codes and anchors come from
`lib/result-codes.ts`; grep the code, not the prose. Every such command shares
one exit table: `0` ok, `1` fail, `2` usage, `3` refused or needs a flag. The
artifact contract itself is in [docs/unattended.md](unattended.md).

<a id="artifact-invalid-json"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_INVALID_JSON`

**Meaning.** `run.json`, `timing.json` or another JSON artifact did not parse.

**Fix.** Regenerate the run with the tool that writes it. A manifest is never
hand-edited; a partial write means the writer was interrupted.

<a id="artifact-unsupported-version"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_UNSUPPORTED_VERSION`

**Meaning.** The artifact's `schema_version` is one this gstack does not read
(`gstack-artifact schema <name>` prints the versions it validates).

**Fix.** Upgrade the consumer (`/gstack-upgrade`) or regenerate the run with
this gstack.

<a id="artifact-schema"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_SCHEMA`

**Meaning.** A required field is missing, has the wrong type, or holds a value
outside its enum. The message names the file, row and field.

**Fix.** Compare the row with `gstack-artifact schema <name>` and regenerate it.

<a id="artifact-missing"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_MISSING`

**Meaning.** `run.json` names an artifact that is not in the run directory.

**Fix.** Copy the whole run directory, not single files. If the file was never
written, rerun the phase that writes it.

<a id="artifact-stale"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_STALE`

**Meaning.** The file's bytes no longer hash to the value `run.json` recorded,
so the manifest does not describe this file.

**Fix.** Treat the run as partially rewritten. Regenerate it, or re-bind the
file through the tool that wrote it so the manifest is updated with it.

<a id="artifact-path-escape"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_PATH_ESCAPE`

**Meaning.** An artifact path resolves outside the run directory: a `..`
segment, an absolute path, or a symlink that points elsewhere.

**Fix.** Keep every artifact inside the run directory under a plain relative
name. A run directory is copied as one unit; nothing outside it is part of
the contract.

<a id="artifact-malformed-jsonl"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_MALFORMED_JSONL`

**Meaning.** A JSONL artifact has a line, usually the last, that is not one
JSON object. The writer was interrupted mid-append.

**Fix.** Rerun the phase that writes the file. Do not trim the line by hand;
the row it held is lost either way, and the manifest hash would change.

<a id="artifact-duplicate-id"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_DUPLICATE_ID`

**Meaning.** Two rows in one file share an id.

**Fix.** Ids are run-bound (`<run>-...`) and unique per file. Regenerate the
rows with the tool that assigns them.

<a id="artifact-unbound-id"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_UNBOUND_ID`

**Meaning.** A row id does not start with the run id in `run.json`, so it
could belong to another run.

**Fix.** Regenerate the row with this run's id.

<a id="artifact-dangling-ref"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_DANGLING_REF`

**Meaning.** A task's `findings`, `blocked_by` or `depends_on`, or a decision's
reference, names an id no artifact in this run defines.

**Fix.** Write the referenced finding, decision or task first, or drop the
reference. A `depends_on` entry may also name a `pr` label that another task
in the file carries.

<a id="artifact-dependency-cycle"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_DEPENDENCY_CYCLE`

**Meaning.** Tasks depend on each other in a cycle, so no lane could start.

**Fix.** Break the cycle in `depends_on`. The message lists the ids on it.

<a id="artifact-count-mismatch"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_COUNT_MISMATCH`

**Meaning.** A `counts` value in `run.json` disagrees with the rows in the file
it summarizes (for example `counts.findings: 65` beside 64 rows).

**Fix.** Regenerate `run.json` after the last row was written. A count never
replaces the file; the hash and the rows are the record.

<a id="artifact-run-interrupted"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_RUN_INTERRUPTED`

**Meaning.** `run.json.status` is not terminal, or a voice is still
`running`/`pending`. The artifacts describe an unfinished run.

**Fix.** Resume it (`gstack-autoplan resume --out <dir>`, PR B-runner) or
consume the artifacts as partial and say so.

<a id="artifact-reviewer-missing"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_REVIEWER_MISSING`

**Meaning.** A phase in `required_phases` is absent from `phases`, a voice has
no terminal status, or a completed voice has no bound output file (path and
hash) in `artifacts`.

**Fix.** Finish the phase. A missing voice is missing coverage; the validator
never fills it in as N/A.

<a id="artifact-guard-line-missing"></a>
### `ARTIFACT_GUARD_LINE_MISSING`

**Meaning.** The run says `session_kind: unattended`, but its
`review-record.md` does not carry the `GUARD_NOT_INSTALLED` line, so the
record does not state that publication order was unverified.

**Fix.** Start the run through `gstack-skill-start` (it prints the line) and
keep the line in the review record.

<a id="guard-not-installed"></a>
### `autoplan guard: not enforced by this host; publication order is unverified (GUARD_NOT_INSTALLED)`

**Meaning.** The autoplan publication hook only executes inside Claude Code.
On every other host, and in every `unattended` session, the hook is present
but never runs, so phase publication order rests on the snapshot hashes
recorded per phase rather than on the guard.

**Fix.** Nothing on this host. The line is printed once per run and belongs
in the review record; `gstack-artifact validate` requires it for an
unattended run. On Claude Code a *missing* hook file still denies every
guarded call (a broken install must not pass as an absent one).

<a id="review-status-mismatch"></a>
### `review-log: status mismatch ... (REVIEW_STATUS_MISMATCH)`

**Meaning.** The row handed to `gstack-review-log` claims a `status`,
`unresolved`, `issues_found` or `critical_gaps` that the `--findings` file
contradicts (for example `status: clean` beside open findings). The row was
not written.

**Fix.** Fix the findings file, not the claim, and log again. Omit the claimed
fields and let the row be derived from the file.

<a id="gate-rev-stale"></a>
### `GATE_REV_STALE`

**Meaning.** The reply names a `gate_rev` older than the gate list's current
revision, so it may answer items that changed.

**Fix.** Render the current list (`gstack-gate render <file>`), read it, and
reply with the printed `gate_rev`.

<a id="gate-reply-unparsed"></a>
### `GATE_REPLY_UNPARSED`

**Meaning.** Part of the reply matched no gate item or option. Nothing was
applied; the unparsed tokens are listed.

**Fix.** Reply with `all`, with `<id><option>` tokens (`d3b uc1a`), or with
`all except <tokens>`. A bare `yes` or `no` is ambiguous across multi-option
items and is never guessed.

## Queue-aware ship: policy, restamp, tree receipt, ship receipt

`gstack-ship-policy`, `gstack-restamp`, `gstack-tree-receipt`,
`gstack-ship-receipt` and `gstack-evidence bundle|ancestor` share the exit
table above and end each error line with a code in parentheses. The policy
file is described in [docs/ship-policy.md](ship-policy.md); the queue flow in
[docs/ship-policy.md#stamp-at-merge](ship-policy.md#stamp-at-merge).

<a id="policy-source-unavailable"></a>
### `policy source unavailable — fix: git fetch origin <base> --depth=1 (POLICY_SOURCE_UNAVAILABLE)`

**Meaning.** The policy is read from the committed copy on `origin/<base>`,
and that ref does not resolve here (a shallow or detached gate checkout, or a
fetch that never happened). The tool exits 3 and never falls back to the
working-tree file silently.

**Fix.** `git fetch origin <base> --depth=1`, then rerun. To run against the
branch's own file deliberately, pass `--policy-from head --allow-repo-commands`;
the receipt then says `policy: head (unreviewed)`.

<a id="policy-invalid"></a>
### `POLICY_INVALID`

**Meaning.** `.gstack/ship-policy.json` has an unknown key, a wrong type or a
value outside its enum. The message names the key. Unknown keys are errors so
a typo never silently means "default".

**Fix.** `gstack-ship-policy validate` lists every problem;
`gstack-ship-policy init --explain` prints each key, its meaning and default.

<a id="policy-containment"></a>
### `POLICY_CONTAINMENT`

**Meaning.** A repo-controlled input escapes its box: an absolute path or a
`..` segment in `stamp_paths`, `release_outputs`, `changelog` or `mirror`; a
glob whose expansion passes 512 regex characters; more than 64 entries in a
list; a `release_tool` over 512 characters or holding a newline. At write time
the same code names a matched file that resolves through a symlink to outside
the repository.

**Fix.** Keep paths repo-relative, globs short and lists small. A mirror may
start with `..` (a sibling checkout) but may not contain an interior `..`.

<a id="policy-exists"></a>
### `POLICY_EXISTS`

**Meaning.** `gstack-ship-policy init` found an existing policy file and wrote
nothing.

**Fix.** Edit the file, or pass `--force` to replace it with the example.

<a id="repo-commands-not-allowed"></a>
### `repo commands not executed (pass --allow-repo-commands) (REPO_COMMANDS_NOT_ALLOWED)`

**Meaning.** The policy declares a command (`release_tool`), and the tool was
run standalone. File presence never authorizes execution: outside `/ship` and
`/land-and-deploy` a repo-declared command runs only with
`--allow-repo-commands`. The commands were listed and nothing was written.

**Fix.** Pass `--allow-repo-commands` when you mean to execute the repo's
code (you already do when you run its tests), or drop the release tool.

<a id="queue-stale"></a>
### `QUEUE_STALE`

**Meaning.** `gstack-restamp` was told the base SHA (`--expect-base`) or the
merge order (`--expect-order`) the allocation assumed, and one of them moved:
the base advanced, a predecessor is not merged, or a successor merged first.
The JSON result carries `expected`, `actual` and `recompute`.

**Fix.** Run the printed `recompute` command, which recomputes the version
from the current base, then merge with the server-side head condition
(`MERGE_CONDITION: sha=<head>`).

<a id="restamp-version-source"></a>
### `RESTAMP_VERSION_SOURCE`

**Meaning.** The configured version source (`VERSION`, `.gstack/version-path`)
is absent, ambiguous or broken at the base revision or on the branch, so there
is no version to bump from.

**Fix.** Create `VERSION` or pin the manifest path in `.gstack/version-path`
on the base branch. gstack never substitutes `0.0.0.0`.

<a id="restamp-merge-conflict"></a>
### `RESTAMP_MERGE_CONFLICT`

**Meaning.** `--after <pr>` builds the merge of the branch and the
predecessor's head in a throwaway worktree, and that merge conflicts. The
branch is untouched.

**Fix.** Merge the predecessor (or the base once it merges) into the branch
under `/ship` Step 3's conflict rules, then run `--after` again.

<a id="restamp-release-tool-failed"></a>
### `RESTAMP_RELEASE_TOOL_FAILED`

**Meaning.** The policy's `release_tool` exited non-zero inside the staging
worktree. The branch was not written; the journal records the stage.

**Fix.** Run the tool by hand in the repo, fix it, then rerun `gstack-restamp`.

<a id="restamp-output-outside-allowed"></a>
### `RESTAMP_OUTPUT_OUTSIDE_ALLOWED`

**Meaning.** The release tool changed a path outside its allowed-output set
(the version files, lockfiles, the CHANGELOG, `stamp_paths` and
`release_outputs`). The restamp refused before writing anything to the branch.

**Fix.** Add the path to `release_outputs` on the base branch when it is a
legitimate generated output, or stop the tool from writing it.

<a id="restamp-conflict"></a>
### `RESTAMP_CONFLICT`

**Meaning.** While applying or rolling back, a file no longer held the bytes
the journal recorded (someone edited it after the stage ran). Overwriting it
would lose that edit, so the restamp stopped.

**Fix.** Read `.gstack/tmp/restamp-journal.json`, reconcile the named file by
hand, then rerun `gstack-restamp` (idempotent: a complete stamp is a no-op).

<a id="restamp-predecessor-moved"></a>
### `PREDECESSOR MOVED <old> -> <new> — fix: gstack-restamp --after <pr> again (RESTAMP_PREDECESSOR_MOVED)`

**Meaning.** The gate ran on a synthetic tree built against a predecessor
head that is no longer that PR's head, so the gated tree is not the tree that
will merge. The receipt refuses `gate-reuse: eligible`.

**Fix.** `gstack-restamp --after <pr>` again, gate the new synthetic tree, and
read the receipt again.

<a id="changelog-duplicate-heading"></a>
### `CHANGELOG_DUPLICATE_HEADING`

**Meaning.** Two sections share one version heading, usually a stamp that
re-headed `[Unreleased]` beside an entry that already carried the version.

**Fix.** Merge them into one entry under the new version.

<a id="changelog-top-mismatch"></a>
### `CHANGELOG_TOP_MISMATCH`

**Meaning.** After the stamp, the first entry's heading is not the version in
`VERSION`.

**Fix.** `gstack-restamp` moves the PR's section to the top; if a hand edit
undid that, fix the heading or rerun the restamp.

<a id="changelog-section-missing"></a>
### `CHANGELOG_SECTION_MISSING`

**Meaning.** The CHANGELOG has neither an `[Unreleased]` section nor one
headed by the version currently stamped on the branch, so there is nothing to
re-head.

**Fix.** Under stamp-at-merge, write the PR's entry under `## [Unreleased]`;
the restamp turns it into `## [<version>] - <date>`.

<a id="gate-reuse-not-eligible"></a>
### `gate-reuse: not-eligible (<what changed>) — fix: <rerun command> (GATE_REUSE_NOT_ELIGIBLE)`

**Meaning.** Tree identity alone is not gate evidence. The receipt compares
the gated identity (tree modulo stamps, runtime pins, lockfile hash, CI
workflow hashes, gate command hash, executed selection, runner image) with the
current one and names what differs, or the stamp-sensitive gates that must
rerun on the final tree.

**Fix.** Rerun the named lanes with the printed command on the stamped tree,
or pass `--force-gate <reason>` in `/ship` to run the full gate again.

<a id="evidence-identity-unknown"></a>
### `EVIDENCE_IDENTITY_UNKNOWN`

**Meaning.** The bundle (or ledger record) lacks a committed tree id, runtime
versions, lockfile hashes or the command hash, so no reuse decision can rest on
it. Imported assertions without verification count as unknown too.

**Fix.** Rebuild the bundle on the gate machine after the lanes ran on a
committed head: `gstack-evidence bundle --out <file> --label <lane>...`.

<a id="evidence-bundle-invalid"></a>
### `EVIDENCE_BUNDLE_INVALID`

**Meaning.** The bundle is not valid JSON or not `gstack-evidence-bundle` v1.

**Fix.** Rebuild it with `gstack-evidence bundle`; a bundle is never hand-edited.

<a id="preregistration-not-ancestor"></a>
### `PREREGISTRATION_NOT_ANCESTOR`

**Meaning.** A `preregistration_shas` entry in the policy is not an ancestor
of HEAD, so the preregistered eval does not describe this branch.

**Fix.** Merge or rebase so the commit is in the branch history, or remove the
entry on the base branch. `gstack-evidence ancestor <sha>...` prints one line
per entry; the ship receipt records the result.

<a id="history-policy-violation"></a>
### `HISTORY_POLICY_VIOLATION`

**Meaning.** The policy says `history: merge-only` and the plan would squash,
rebase or otherwise rewrite the branch: `gstack-ship-policy check-history
--plan squash|rebase` refuses (exit 3) before anything moves, and without
`--plan` it reports the violation (exit 1) when the pushed branch is no longer
an ancestor of HEAD.

**Fix.** `git merge origin/<base>` and keep every commit; merge the PR with a
merge commit.

<a id="receipt-missing"></a>
### `RECEIPT_MISSING`

**Meaning.** `gstack-ship-receipt read --pr <n>` found no
```` ```gstack-ship-receipt ```` block in the PR body.

**Fix.** `/ship` Step 18 writes it (`gstack-ship-receipt write ... --pr <n>`);
for an older PR, write it once by hand with the same command.

<a id="receipt-invalid"></a>
### `RECEIPT_INVALID`

**Meaning.** The block exists but does not validate against the `ship-receipt`
schema (`gstack-artifact schema ship-receipt`).

**Fix.** Regenerate it with `gstack-ship-receipt write`; never hand-edit the
block.
<a id="execution-unknown"></a>
### `EXECUTION_UNKNOWN`

**Meaning.** `gstack-autoplan` recorded a dispatch intent for an attempt (the
prompt was handed to a reviewer) but no terminal record followed: no `submit`,
no cancellation. The runner was killed, or the parent never came back. The
provider may have finished and charged; snapshot hashes prove which input was
sent, not whether the review completed. The spend ledger keeps the attempt's
reservation.

**Fix.** If the reviewer finished, submit its result with the same attempt id
(`gstack-autoplan submit --out <dir> --phase <p> --voice <v> --result <file>
--model <id> --attempt <id>`); a late result is still bound. If it did not,
redispatch explicitly with `gstack-autoplan next --out <dir> --redispatch
<attempt>`. `resume` and `next` never redispatch an ambiguous attempt on their own.

<a id="run-locked"></a>
### `RUN_LOCKED`

**Meaning.** Another `gstack-autoplan` process holds `<dir>/run.lock` (pid,
host and start time are in the file). Every mutating command takes the lock
for its duration, so two writers never interleave.

**Fix.** Wait for the owner to exit. If its pid is gone (a killed runner),
`gstack-autoplan resume --out <dir>` takes ownership and reconciles open
attempts; a lock whose pid is alive is never stolen.

<a id="run-not-initialized"></a>
### `RUN_NOT_INITIALIZED`

**Meaning.** The `--out` directory has no `run.json` written by
`gstack-autoplan`, so `submit`, `status`, `answer` and `resume` have nothing to
act on.

**Fix.** Start the run with `gstack-autoplan next --plan <file> --out <dir>`;
the first `next` initializes the run (restore point, active plan, manifest).

<a id="phase-not-awaiting"></a>
### `PHASE_NOT_AWAITING`

**Meaning.** `submit` named a phase or voice that is not waiting for a result:
the phase is already closed, not yet opened, or the voice already has a bound
result.

**Fix.** Run `gstack-autoplan status --out <dir>` and submit for the attempt
the last `next` printed (`ATTEMPT: ... phase=<p> voice=<v>`).

<a id="attempt-mismatch"></a>
### `ATTEMPT_MISMATCH`

**Meaning.** The `--attempt` id is not the open attempt for that phase and
voice, or that attempt was already submitted. A result is bound exactly once;
a second submit of the same attempt is refused rather than overwriting the
first.

**Fix.** Pass the attempt id printed by `next` for this voice. To replace a
bound result, reopen the phase through `answer` (a scope-changing choice) or
start a new run.

<a id="result-receipt-missing"></a>
### `RESULT_RECEIPT_MISSING`

**Meaning.** The result file does not begin with the full-read receipt the
prompt asked for: `INPUT: <phase> <snapshot sha256>`. Either the reviewer did
not read the prompt file through EOF, or the result belongs to a different
snapshot (the plan changed between dispatch and submit).

**Fix.** The reviewer's first line must be the INPUT line from its prompt
file. If the plan changed, run `next` again for a fresh snapshot and
redispatch; a result for an older snapshot is never bound to the current phase.

<a id="result-findings-missing"></a>
### `RESULT_FINDINGS_MISSING`

**Meaning.** The result has no valid canonical findings block. Every reviewer
returns, beside its prose, one fenced block:

````
```gstack-findings
{"severity":"High","title":"...","file":"lib/x.ts","line":12,"fix":"..."}
```
````

one JSON object per line with at least `severity` (`Critical`, `High`,
`Medium`, `Low`, `Informational`) and `title`. An empty fence means the
reviewer found nothing; a missing fence or a malformed row means the result
cannot be reconciled and is refused.

**Fix.** Ask the reviewer for the fence (the prompt names it), or add the rows
from its prose yourself and submit again. Reconciliation runs on these rows,
not on the prose; a prose-only review has no completeness check.

<a id="model-family-conflict"></a>
### `MODEL_FAMILY_CONFLICT`

**Meaning.** The outside voice's model is in the same family as the native
reviewer (both Anthropic, both OpenAI, ...), or its family cannot be
determined from the id. Two voices from one family are one voice; the record
says which was which.

**Fix.** Run the outside voice on a model from another family and pass its id
with `--model`. Families recognized: anthropic, openai, google, xai, deepseek,
qwen, zai, moonshot, meta, mistral, minimax. An id the table cannot classify
is refused; name the model fully (`openai/gpt-6-astra`, not `astra`).

<a id="spend-cap-exceeded"></a>
### `SPEND_CAP_EXCEEDED`

**Meaning.** `spent + reserved + next_estimate` would exceed `--spend-cap`.
The ledger (`<dir>/spend.json`) counts unsettled reservations and unknown
charges at their reservation, so a crashed attempt keeps its cost held until
it is settled or released.

**Fix.** Raise `--spend-cap`, settle attempts whose actual cost is known
(`submit --usage-usd <n>`), release attempts that never ran (`gstack-autoplan
release --attempt <id>`), or stop here. Host-dispatched subagent spend is
`unknown`, never zero.

<a id="consensus-missing"></a>
### `CONSENSUS_MISSING`

**Meaning.** `next` for the Eng phase found a closed prior phase without its
consensus record (`<phase>-consensus.md` plus its reconciliation rows), so the
Eng prompt would be sent without that phase's summary.

**Fix.** `gstack-autoplan resume --out <dir>` re-closes the phase through
reconciliation. The Eng dispatch is refused until every closed phase has its
summary; it is never sent partially.

<a id="outside-runner-unavailable"></a>
### `OUTSIDE_RUNNER_UNAVAILABLE`

**Meaning.** `gstack-outside-voice run --runner <r>` cannot run here:
`codex-cli` found no `codex` binary or no login, `api` found neither
`OPENAI_API_KEY` nor `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` for the model's family, or
`host-subagent` was called without `--result <file> --model <id>`. When
another runner is configured (`--fallback` or `GSTACK_OUTSIDE_RUNNER`), the
line reads `codex-cli unavailable; using <runner>` and the review proceeds on
that runner; it is a full outside voice, not a degraded one. With no other
runner, this is missing coverage.

**Fix.** `gstack-codex-login` logs Codex in from `OPENAI_API_KEY`
(unattended machines); or set the API key and pass `--runner api`; or run the
review on a cross-family subagent and submit its file with `--runner
host-subagent --result <file> --model <id>`.

<a id="reality-row-missing"></a>
### `REALITY_ROW_MISSING`

**Meaning.** `gstack-plan-reality check --phase <p> <review>` found no
`REALITY: <row> …` line for a row the review must carry (every tier 1 row:
`premise-table`, `already-done`, `surface-check`, `binding-decisions`,
`numbers`, `deferred-asks`, `pr-count`; plus the tier 2 rows whose scope was
passed with `--scope`), or a tier 1 row was marked `n/a`. The check prints
`PLAN_REALITY: phase=<p> rows=<n>/<m> missing=<ids> verdict=<v>` and exits
`1`. In an unattended run the verdict is `incomplete` and the phase does not
close; interactively it is `repair`: produce the missing rows and re-check, at
most twice, then warn at the gate with each row still missing.

**Fix.** `gstack-plan-reality rows --phase <p> [--scope <csv>]` prints each
row's check. Work it and end the review with one line per row,
`REALITY: <row> pass|finding <summary> <file:line>`.

<a id="reality-receipt-missing"></a>
### `REALITY_RECEIPT_MISSING`

**Meaning.** A `REALITY:` line names its row and status but carries no
receipt. A receipt is `path:line`, `path:line-line` or a commit sha; it is what
makes the row a check rather than a claim.

**Fix.** Add where the check was made to the line, for example
`REALITY: already-done pass 0 hits since 2026-10-09 for bin/gstack-doctor 91bbd9e`
or `REALITY: surface-check finding bun upgrade --version absent on 1.3.14 bin/gstack-capy-install:52`.

## Pre-gate: generated-file registry, gstack-pregate, issue links

Both tools read their pin file (`.gstack/generated.json`, `.gstack/pregate.json`)
from `origin/<base>`, never the working tree, and run repo-declared commands only
under `--allow-repo-commands` or inside `/ship`. Details: docs/pregate.md.

<a id="regen-registry-invalid"></a>
### `REGEN_REGISTRY_INVALID`

**Meaning.** `.gstack/generated.json` is not valid JSON, has an unknown key, a
missing `id`/`inputs`/`outputs`, or a duplicate id.

**Fix.** `gstack-regen validate` prints every error with its JSON path; compare
with `gstack-regen init --explain` and fix the file on the base branch.

<a id="regen-containment"></a>
### `REGEN_CONTAINMENT`

**Meaning.** A registry glob escapes the repository (`..`, absolute, more than 64
per list) or a command is not one line under 512 bytes.

**Fix.** Repo-relative globs only; one line per command.

<a id="regen-stale"></a>
### `REGEN_STALE`

**Meaning.** A registered output differs from what its command produces in a
scratch `git worktree` of the current tree: the output is stale or hand-edited.

**Fix.** Run the printed command (`gstack-regen write --only <id>` does it in
place) and commit the outputs. Never hand-merge a generated file: on a conflict
take either side, then regenerate.

<a id="regen-command-failed"></a>
### `REGEN_COMMAND_FAILED`

**Meaning.** A registered command exited non-zero in the scratch worktree.

**Fix.** Run it by hand in the repository and read its output; the scratch
worktree has no `node_modules` of its own, so a command that needs them must
reference the repository's (gstack's entries do through `bun run`).

<a id="pregate-config-invalid"></a>
### `PREGATE_CONFIG_INVALID`

**Meaning.** `.gstack/pregate.json` has an unknown key, a wrong type, a glob
that escapes the repository, a runner without `{files}`, or `secrets` in `warn`.

**Fix.** `gstack-pregate validate`. `secrets` and required-lane obligations
cannot be downgraded; every other check id in `warn` is honoured only from the
base branch's copy.

<a id="pregate-secrets"></a>
### `PREGATE_SECRETS`

**Meaning.** `gstack-redact` found a HIGH finding, or a MEDIUM finding in the
`secret` category, in the lines this branch adds.

**Fix.** Rotate the credential, remove it from the added lines (history
included), rerun. Not downgradable.

<a id="pregate-strays"></a>
### `PREGATE_STRAYS`

**Meaning.** A file was added at the repository root, in a new top-level
directory, or under a scratch name (`zz-*`, `tmp*`, `scratch*`).

**Fix.** Delete or move it. An intentional root file goes in `strays.allow`.

<a id="pregate-literals"></a>
### `PREGATE_LITERALS`

**Meaning.** A changed exported constant (or a named timeout/retry literal) still
appears with its old value in a test file the branch did not update — nightly-
and Heavy-only files included.

**Fix.** Update every listed `file:line`, or keep the old value.

<a id="pregate-no-lane"></a>
### `PREGATE_NO_LANE`

**Meaning.** A touched file maps to no test through static imports, repo-path
string literals, the `bin/<name>` → `test/<name>*.test.ts` convention or a
`dependencies` declaration. That is a failure, not a pass.

**Fix.** Add a test that names the file, or declare its lane (an explicit `[]`
for files with no behaviour, such as docs) in `.gstack/pregate.json`. `--explain`
prints every mapping and why.

<a id="pregate-lane-failed"></a>
### `PREGATE_LANE_FAILED`

**Meaning.** A local lane the touched files select exited non-zero under
`set -o pipefail`, or reported zero tests (ZERO-RUN).

**Fix.** Read the printed lane log, fix the failure, rerun
`gstack-pregate --stage tests`. A `| tail`-hidden exit is still an exit.

<a id="pregate-incomplete"></a>
### `PREGATE_INCOMPLETE`

**Meaning.** A check timed out, its tool is unavailable, repo commands were not
allowed, or the working tree changed while the check ran. Incomplete is never
pass and blocks publication.

**Fix.** Pass `--allow-repo-commands`, install the tool, raise `--timeout`, or
keep the tree still, then rerun.

<a id="pregate-stale"></a>
### `PREGATE_STALE`

**Meaning.** `pregate.json` was recorded against a different working-tree
fingerprint than the one being published (the final stamp, a regen, any edit).

**Fix.** Rerun `gstack-pregate` after the final generation and stamp; Step 18
refuses to write the ship receipt otherwise.

<a id="pregate-remote-uncleared"></a>
### `PREGATE_REMOTE_UNCLEARED`

**Meaning.** A `requires-remote` obligation (a platform lane this machine cannot
run, named by `workflow.yml/job`) has no receipt.

**Fix.** Dispatch that job, then
`gstack-pregate clear --remote <workflow.yml/job> --run-url <url>` (or
`--bundle-lane <label>` from an evidence bundle). The ship receipt carries each
obligation with its receipt.

<a id="issue-unreadable"></a>
### `ISSUE_UNREADABLE`

**Meaning.** An issue named by a `Fixes #N`/`Closes #N` trailer or `--issue N`
could not be read through `gstack-issue-guard`.

**Fix.** Check `gh auth status` and the number. Until it reads, the link is
rendered as `Refs #N`, never `Fixes`.

## Eval plans, lane ownership, evidence verification, the owner brief

Codes printed by `bin/gstack-eval-plan`, `bin/gstack-lane-check`,
`gstack-evidence verify`, `bin/gstack-owner-brief`, `bin/gstack-contributor-mode`
and `bin/gstack-banned-terms` (plan E1–E3). Each ends an error line in
parentheses; grep the code.

<a id="prereg-incomplete"></a>
### `PREREG_INCOMPLETE`

**Meaning.** `gstack-eval-plan prereg --check <file>` found a required
preregistration section missing or empty: `## Bars`, `## Arms`, `## Decoys`,
`## Stop rules` or `## Held-out exposure` (every held-out set the plan
touches, its prior exposure and the reservation on it).

**Fix.** Fill the named sections before any priced call. A plan that cannot
name its stop rule or its held-out exposure is not preregistered; the pilot
refuses to start without a passing check.

<a id="eval-price-missing"></a>
### `EVAL_PRICE_MISSING`

**Meaning.** An arm's model has no row in `lib/pricing.ts`, so the admission
estimate would be `$0`, which the ledger would admit without limit.

**Fix.** Add the row from the provider's pricing page (USD per million tokens
with `as_of`), or drop the arm. The table prices standard text tokens only;
see the excluded billing categories in `lib/pricing.ts`.

<a id="eval-dry-run-failed"></a>
### `EVAL_DRY_RUN_FAILED`

**Meaning.** The `$0` stub-model dry run over the real input file found a
problem the priced run would have paid for: a row without the fields the
prompt needs, an output budget too small for a reasoning model, or no retry
prompt text.

**Fix.** Repair the named rows or flags (`--output-budget`, `--retry-prompt`)
and rerun `gstack-eval-plan dry-run`. The checklist it prints is the record
the pilot requires.

<a id="eval-arms-unresolved"></a>
### `EVAL_ARMS_UNRESOLVED`

**Meaning.** `gstack-models resolve --role eval-arms` produced no arm and the
repo policy document fallback (`--policy-doc`, default the first of
`docs/model-policy.md`, `MODEL_POLICY.md`, `docs/MODELS.md`) named no priced
model.

**Fix.** Pass `--arms <model,model>`, point `--policy-doc` at the document
that lists the project's allowed models, or fix the model policy config.

<a id="eval-budget-exhausted"></a>
### `EVAL_BUDGET_EXHAUSTED`

**Meaning.** The ledger refused the next reservation: spent + reserved +
unknown charges + the estimate exceeds the cap (`SPEND_CAP_EXCEEDED`
underneath). The run stops with status `budget_exhausted`; nothing is retried.

**Fix.** Read the spend table (`gstack-eval-plan pilot report`), settle or
release the open attempts, then raise `--cap` on purpose or stop.

<a id="lane-conflict"></a>
### `LANE_CONFLICT`

**Meaning.** `gstack-lane-check` found a planned file that an in-flight
branch or pull request already changes; the line names the PR number, the
branch and the hunk count.

**Fix.** Give the file one owner: wait for that PR to merge, stack this lane
on its branch, or drop the file from the plan. Two lanes editing one file is
the merge-conflict incident the check exists to prevent.

<a id="lane-ref-unavailable"></a>
### `LANE_REF_UNAVAILABLE`

**Meaning.** A `--branch` or `--pr` could not be resolved: the ref is not
fetched, or `gh` is missing or not logged in.

**Fix.** `git fetch origin <branch>`, or `gh auth status`. An unresolved lane
is reported as such and never counted as clear.

<a id="evidence-unverified"></a>
### `EVIDENCE_UNVERIFIED`

**Meaning.** `gstack-evidence verify <bundle>` could not verify a lane claim
on this machine: the committed tree differs from the bundle's, the recorded
log is absent or its hash differs, or the probe was not rerun.

**Fix.** Check out the bundle's commit and run `--rerun` to execute the lane
command here, or treat the claim as an imported assertion that never counts
toward gate reuse.

<a id="banned-term-found"></a>
### `BANNED_TERM_FOUND`

**Meaning.** The diff adds a term listed in `.gstack/banned-terms.json`
outside that term's `allowed_paths`. The finding names the term, the file and
line, and the allowed locations.

**Fix.** Remove the term from the added line or move the text to an allowed
path. `/review` and `/document-release` run this check on every diff.

<a id="banned-terms-invalid"></a>
### `BANNED_TERMS_INVALID`

**Meaning.** `.gstack/banned-terms.json` is not valid: `terms` must be a
non-empty list of strings, and each `allowed_paths` entry must be a plain
repo-relative glob (no `..`, no absolute path, no symlink escape).

**Fix.** `gstack-banned-terms init` writes a commented example with every key
at its default; `gstack-banned-terms validate` checks the file.

<a id="contributor-source-unavailable"></a>
### `CONTRIBUTOR_SOURCE_UNAVAILABLE`

**Meaning.** `gstack-contributor-mode detect` found no `maintainers` list in
`.gstack/ship-policy.json` and could not ask the collaborators API (`gh`
missing, not logged in, or no PR author resolvable), so the mode is off and
`source=off` is recorded.

**Fix.** Add `maintainers` to the ship policy (the explicit list always wins),
run `gh auth login`, or pass `--contributor` to force the mode for this review.

<a id="brief-input-missing"></a>
### `BRIEF_INPUT_MISSING`

**Meaning.** `gstack-owner-brief render --out <dir>` needs `gate.json`,
`decisions.jsonl` and `findings.jsonl` in the run directory; one is missing.

**Fix.** Reach the gate first (`gstack-autoplan next --out <dir>` until
`gate_pending`); the brief renders what the gate wrote.

<a id="draft-direction-unresolved"></a>
### `DRAFT_DIRECTION_UNRESOLVED`

**Meaning.** The phase-close rewrite found a `draft direction stands until the
owner decides` line whose decision id is still pending, so it was left as is.

**Fix.** Answer the gate for that id, then rerun `gstack-owner-brief close`;
only decided lines are rewritten, each to its chosen option and the date.

<a id="setup-crlf-repair"></a>
### `warning: left <n> locally edited file(s) with CRLF line endings that gstack pins to LF`

**Meaning.** Git for Windows checks out with `core.autocrlf=true`, so gstack's
nested shell scripts (skill `bin/` helpers, the Claude hook shims,
`lib/cso/images/*`, `scripts/app/*`) were written with CRLF until
`.gitattributes` pinned them to LF (#3110). Git Bash runs them anyway, but a
Linux bash reading the same checkout (a synced tree, WSL, a bind mount) fails
with `set: pipefail: invalid option name`, and a hook that fails that way
blocks the tool call it guards. Pulling the new rule does not fix existing
copies, because git never rewrites a file whose content did not change. Setup
finds those files with one `git ls-files --eol` pass and checks them out again
as LF. It leaves a file you edited locally alone and names it in this warning.
The same section covers `skipped the CRLF repair` (another setup held the
install registry lock) and `the CRLF repair could not rewrite every file`.

**Fix.** For edited files, stash and restore them; git writes them back with LF
and keeps your edits:

```bash
cd ~/.claude/skills/gstack && git stash && git stash pop
```

If the repair was skipped, re-run `./setup` once the other setup finishes. If
it failed, `git checkout -- . && ./setup` in the checkout discards local edits
and rewrites every file. Use your install directory if it is not
`~/.claude/skills/gstack` (`./setup --status` prints it). Expected result: the
next `./setup` prints no CRLF warning.