Press

/press

Press is the tests-only adversarial gate after /cook. Its skill contract is:

press(spec_ref)
  -> Continue("press-corrective-cook")
   | Dispatch("/age")
   | Stop(reason)

Press never owns first coverage. Press never edits production code. Cook owns the implementation. Press attacks the approved contract and preserves failure evidence for a bounded Cook repair.

Phase entry

Run python3 skills/press/scripts/press.pyz wheypoint-resolve --ref <slug>. authoritative uses the record; its working_context is the first batched tilth_read. not-found proceeds cold; legacy shows its source and slug, then proceeds. gated, ambiguous, and error stop and show the payload. Show advisory stale-commit and grounded-path-missing findings.

Inputs

Press accepts this invocation:

/press <slug> [--auto] [--hard] [--open-pr]

After phase entry, Press reads .cheese/cook/<slug>.md for the Cook handoff.

--auto selects the autonomous chain. See ## Auto mode.

--hard requests the optional final gate. Press forwards this flag to Age.

--open-pr is publication permission. Only the user supplies it. Press forwards this flag to Age. Press never adds it.

Press preserves the Cook durable_flags: value without change. Press ignores the Cook taste_test: value.

Packaged commands

Run this command for boundary routing:

python3 skills/press/scripts/press.pyz press-route \
  .cheese/press/<slug>.attempt-N.route.json

The request contains only outcome and repair_cycles:

{
  "outcome": "green",
  "repair_cycles": 0
}

Set outcome to green, in_contract_red, invalid_evidence, or production_changed.

Set repair_cycles to the number of completed corrective Cook continuations. Use 0 for the first attempt.

Use the command JSON action as the authority. Stop if the bundle does not exist.

Use separate append-only artifact names for each Press attempt. Use the same <slug> for all three attempts. Never reuse an attempt number.

Use these paths:

• Attack candidate: .cheese/press/candidates/<slug>.attempt-N.json
• Route request: .cheese/press/<slug>.attempt-N.route.json
• Telemetry request: .cheese/press/<slug>.attempt-N.telemetry-request.json
• Telemetry record: .cheese/press/<slug>.attempt-N.telemetry.json

A third in-contract RED returns Stop("third-red"). Do not create attempt-4 paths. Do not overwrite an earlier path.

Execution telemetry

Run this command after routing:

python3 skills/press/scripts/press.pyz press-telemetry \
  .cheese/press/<slug>.attempt-N.telemetry-request.json

The request carries only what the attempt observed. Run press-route for the attempt first: the command reads outcome and repair_cycles from that route request.

Save the output at .cheese/press/<slug>.attempt-N.telemetry.json. The record contains these values:

• Attempt outcome
• Retry count
• Tool errors for each phase
• Purpose for each delegated agent
• Class for each changed file

Telemetry never controls the route. See `references/telemetry.md`.

Adversarial loop

1. Attack — Add or run only tests, fixtures, and test-only harness support. Use the approved seam and witness. Keep the attack identity and test digest stable.
2. Classify — Use in_contract_red for an in-contract failure. Use green for a clean pass. Use production_changed when the attempt changed production paths. Use invalid_evidence when you cannot verify the evidence.
3. Repair — Route in_contract_red with the completed corrective count. Counts 0 and 1 return Continue("press-corrective-cook"). Count 2 returns Stop("third-red").
4. Replay — Replay the same attack after the corrective Cook returns. Use the same attack and test digest. Then classify the result again.
5. Terminate — Return Dispatch("/age") only after GREEN.

Invalid evidence returns a stop. A production tree change also returns a stop. These outcomes never return a continuation.

Press has no global dispatch: /cook action. Press owns the corrective Cook Continue action.

Baseline-aware gates

Press preserves baseline-aware readiness for project gates. The Cook baseline: line names one artifact. That artifact holds the settled state.

Read the artifact through the baseline: path. Do not re-flag a failure when its test and signature match the artifact. New or changed failures block the route.

See `../cook/references/quality-gates.md`. Also see `references/gap-analysis.md`.

Flow

1. Read — Load the approved spec, Cook handoff, and baseline block. Use canonical terms from .cheese/glossary/<slug>.md when that file exists.
2. Attack — Add or run only adversarial tests. Do not add first-coverage tests. Do not change production paths.
3. Classify — Select green, in_contract_red, invalid_evidence, or production_changed from the adversarial run.
4. Continue or stop — Run python3 skills/press/scripts/press.pyz press-route with outcome and repair_cycles. Only Continue, Dispatch, and Stop action shapes are public.
5. Report — Write .cheese/press/<slug>.md at a terminal result. Include the attempts, evidence, and review follow-ups.
6. Hand off — Send only a GREEN Dispatch("/age") to the global Age route.

Use `code-intelligence-routing.md` for source changes.

Use `../cheese/references/harness-portability.md` for portability. The reference states that slash commands are host renderings, not the control model.

Press reports one readiness value. Map ready for /age to status: ok and next: age.

Map follow-up recommended to status: ok-with-concerns: <concern> and next: age. Use this status for a GREEN pass that also records a review follow-up. Age owns each recorded concern.

Map blocked to status: gated: <decision> and next: done. Stop after that status.

Auto mode

--auto runs the same adversarial loop. It also selects the next phase without a user prompt.

Dispatch /age <slug> --auto after ready for /age or follow-up recommended. Add --hard when the user supplied it. Add --open-pr when the user supplied it.

Stop after blocked. Do not dispatch Age.

Honor the no-chain directive when the caller supplies it. Write the Press handoff and stop. Do not start another phase. Cook's fan pathway owns this directive. The retired /ultracook orchestrator previously owned it. Test for the directive itself. Do not test for the source name. See `../cook/references/auto-mode.md`.

Output

Write .cheese/press/<slug>.md only at a terminal Press result. A corrective Continue stays inside the Press phase. It writes no durable handoff.

Write the file with python3 skills/press/scripts/press.pyz write-handoff-artifact; include one or more --grounded <path[#start-end]> arguments. Use the canonical preamble:

python3 skills/press/scripts/press.pyz write-handoff-artifact \
  --slug <slug> --status <status> --phase press --next <next> \
  --artifact .cheese/cook/<slug>.md --orientation "<one-line orientation>" \
  --durable-flags "<preserved Cook value>" --baseline "<baseline artifact path>" \
  --grounded <path[#start-end]> --body-file <body-path>

status: <canonical status field>
next: age | done
artifact: .cheese/cook/<slug>.md
durable_flags: <preserved Cook value>
baseline: none | <baseline artifact path>
<one-line orientation>

The handback contract defines the status: grammar. The preamble accepts no other keys. Put every Press value in the report body.

artifact: names the consumed Cook report. Do not put attack evidence on this line.