feat(pi): wire lazy lease promotion into the mutator gate

Completes the promotion path: the client landed in the previous commit, but
nothing drove step 2 — the model emitting the receipt. This wires it.

LAZY, not at session start. Promotion costs an entire model turn, because the
receipt must be the whole message (hmac.compare_digest, "not a transcript
substring"). Minting at session start would collide with the Constitution's
first-response mode declaration — the two cannot share a message, so requiring
both would be unsatisfiable. Deferring to the first DENIED MUTATOR means the
mode declaration happens first and the receipt gets its own later turn, so no
governance change is needed. A read-only session never pays for promotion at all.

Mechanism: on a MUTATOR_UNVERIFIED denial the tool_call hook mints a challenge
and returns the receipt in the block `reason`, which pi feeds back to the model
as the tool result — the existing injection path already used by
lease-lifecycle.ts. The model emits the receipt as its next message, message_end
ships it to the observer, and the extension then calls observe_receipt +
promote_lease.

Only MUTATOR_UNVERIFIED triggers minting. Other denials (GATE_UNAVAILABLE,
STALE_GENERATION, LEASE_EXPIRED, ANCESTRY_MISMATCH) describe conditions a
receipt cannot fix, and begin_verification revokes before it mints, so minting
there would thrash the broker.

Completion is gated on an EXACT text match against the minted receipt. This is
load-bearing, not defensive: message_end also fires for the message that
CONTAINED the blocked tool call — one turn BEFORE the model answers. An earlier
version completed there, so observe_receipt compared against the wrong text,
failed, and burned the challenge before the model ever emitted it. Matching the
text mirrors the broker's own compare_digest semantics and waits for the right
turn. Confirmed by instrumenting message_end and watching it fire with
pending=yes one message too early.

It never posts the receipt itself. receipt-observer-client.py accepts any
string, so self-posting would satisfy the broker while proving nothing — the
whole point is that a live model echoes a challenge it was given.

Bounded by MAX_PROMOTION_ATTEMPTS: model compliance is not guaranteed (observed
a run where the model retried the command instead of emitting the receipt), so
a non-complying model degrades to today's behaviour — denied mutators — rather
than looping.

Verified with a live model on sb-it-1-dt: receipt emitted verbatim as a whole
message, and the broker token was minted AND consumed, i.e. observe_receipt and
promote_lease both succeeded and the lease reached VERIFIED.

Known limitation: under `pi -p`, the receipt is a text-only turn, which ends the
one-shot loop — so promotion completes but the blocked tool is not retried in
that same invocation. Interactive and durable fleet sessions continue and retry
normally.

docs/scratchpads/pr-merge-message-field.md

@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+# PR merge squash message field
+
+- **Charter:** `/home/hermes/agent-work/CHARTER-PRMERGE-MESSAGE-FIELD.md`
+- **Owner:** `be-coder-08`
+- **Branch:** `fix/pr-merge-message-field`
+- **Base:** remote `main` / local `origin/main` at `85d2108e4ed15c744ad3b87a5b629e7b2d39405a`
+- **Estate:** HOMELAB tooling shared by HOMELAB and USC
+
+## Objective
+
+Add an optional, identity-checked Gitea squash message to `pr-merge.sh` so genuine multi-author PRs retain non-poster branch authors without weakening hardcoded squash behavior.
+
+## Binding requirements
+
+1. `Do` remains hardcoded to `squash`; no provider/repository default may select merge style.
+2. A verified trailer uses a PR commit's linked `author.login` and that same commit's author email. No `/users/{login}` primary-email lookup occurs. Recorded rationale: this asks only what the provider can answer.
+3. A commit with `author.login` null blocks before merge, prints both the null provider fact and commit email fact, and names the escalation principal.
+4. The BLOCK arm must be observed firing; a normal canonical single-author API payload remains explicit squash plus its reviewed `head_commit_id`.
+5. Every provider mutation is read back from the provider; no real PR is merged during tests.
+
+## Derived interface decisions
+
+- Add `--co-author-trailers` rather than accepting arbitrary message text. The wrapper enumerates PR commits and constructs trailers, making an unchecked `Co-authored-by` line unexpressible.
+- Require `--escalate-to PRINCIPAL` with `--co-author-trailers`, so the BLOCK diagnostic always names a principal rather than a generic role.
+- Do not expose `MergeTitleField` separately. When trailers exist, set it from the provider PR title and set `MergeMessageField` only to construction-generated trailers. This preserves one provider source for the title and avoids an unrelated caller-controlled degree of freedom.
+- Preserve first-commit order and emit one trailer per distinct non-poster `author.login`, using that first linked commit's own email.
+
+## Canonical delivery plan
+
+1. Port the capability into the installed source of truth, `packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/pr-merge.sh`; do not retain `infra/fleet/tools/git` as a second copy.
+2. Preserve canonical `--expect-head`, exact head branch/repository/SHA queue inspection, Gitea atomic head pinning, GitHub `--match-head-commit`, and delete-after-merge semantics.
+3. Do not port the deployed-only `--skip-queue-guard` bypass. Add the focused harness to the canonical framework-shell suite and re-establish RED/GREEN on the packaged baseline.
+4. Deliver through a reviewed package release followed by `mosaic update` with its default framework reseed. The installer snapshots, manifest-syncs framework-owned `tools/**`, and rolls back on failure.
+5. Before either estate relies on the change, require installed/package hash equality, `MergeMessageField` presence, and a green focused harness. Release/reseed ownership is currently unassigned and blocks activation after source merge.
+
+## Evidence
+
+- RED against the byte-identical deployed baseline (`sha256 08a65e8584c5…`): rc 1 with eight named failures. The wrapper rejected `--co-author-trailers`; the null-login path emitted none of the required BLOCK facts/principal; and both verified/ordinary API paths failed the stdin-config credential assertion (ordinary path exposed the fixture token through curl argv). Log: `/home/hermes/agent-work/be-coder-08/evidence/prmerge-message-field-red.log`.
+- GREEN on the deployed-baseline candidate: verified linked multi-author payload, null-login BLOCK, required named principal, explicit squash, stdin-config token transport, and absence of `/users` lookup all passed. Log: `/home/hermes/agent-work/be-coder-08/evidence/prmerge-message-field-green.log`.
+- RED against canonical packaged baseline `c581ef48…`: rc 1 with 32 assertions. It rejects the new option, and the first harness version did not satisfy canonical head branch/repository/SHA metadata. Log: `/home/hermes/agent-work/be-coder-08/evidence/prmerge-packaged-baseline-red.log`. The port adapts the fixture rather than weakening canonical head controls.
+- Provider capability probe against `git.mosaicstack.dev`: authenticated `be-coder-08` POST to deliberately nonexistent PR `2147483647` with both message fields returned JSON HTTP 404; the unauthenticated same request returned JSON HTTP 401 (not the charter's predicted 403). The authenticated-vs-unauthenticated differential proves write authorization resolved while no mergeable subject existed. `tl-mosaic` ruled the literal non-load-bearing: preserve the observed 404/401 pair and do not manufacture a 403 case. No cause was inferred and no real PR was targeted.
+- Provider-generated trailer behavior is not treated as exclusive or absent. The wrapper's VERIFIED/BLOCK decision binds each requested non-poster trailer to commit `author.login` plus that commit's email; it does not assume `MergeMessageField` is the squash's only trailer source. The poster is omitted from the constructed list because the resulting squash author already records the poster; any additional provider-generated trailer is outside this change's unmeasured mechanism.
+- An early candidate SHA-256 `5de32876990e4f26920448cb3220cc7f1146d558b4dd2bc1ee1a2abee2f2cbe6` passed the initial harness, then author-side review found credential-fallback and argv-exposure defects. The live deployed wrapper was atomically restored to baseline SHA-256 `08a65e8584c52c6d41ea1c686f8b95585c21e4b37320a2447eba09359a0e02c1`; the remediated candidate remains only in the worktree.
+
+## Remediation and current review state
+
+1. Token and Basic Auth now use stdin curl configuration, not argv. PR title, contributor email, and the JSON payload also remain out of child argv.
+2. Each credential attempt binds commit inspection and merge. A token failure during either inspection or mutation causes Basic fallback to repeat inspection before mutation; the payload pins the inspected `head_commit_id`.
+3. Focused tests cover token-resolution fail-closed behavior, both HTTP-401 fallback seams, metadata/credential argv absence, null-login BLOCK, explicit squash, canonical reviewed-head binding, unchanged ordinary payload, and retained log-safe provider diagnostics. Token-resolution RED: `/home/hermes/agent-work/be-coder-08/evidence/prmerge-token-resolution-red.log`.
+4. Codex review rounds 3–5 requested retained provider error text, log-safe provider diagnostics, fail-closed credential fallback, stable value-option parsing, and PR-title trailer-injection prevention. These are remediated with regression assertions. A post-remediation independent review is still required.
+5. **Accepted linkage limitation:** `author.login` resolution proves that the commit address maps to a registered provider account. It does not prove that the named principal authored the commit because Git author metadata is self-asserted. This gate checks attribution linkage, not authorship; commit signing is out of scope and currently unadopted. Coordinators explicitly ruled that this does not add a third state.
+6. Codex's sandbox could not execute the harness because its checkout was read-only; that environmental limitation is recorded separately from host-side test results.
+
+## Disposable provider fixture acceptance
+
+- Use a retained scratch repository only, with two branch authors and `author != committer` on at least one commit.
+- Arm A supplies a message-field trailer for one non-poster; record whether that value lands without forcing the partial-pair result into under-specified `APPENDS`/`REPLACES` labels. Demonstrate an absence control.
+- Arm B includes a registered trailer for a different non-poster on a branch commit; record whether it survives or drops. Verify identity through an existing commit whose `author.login` resolves and demonstrate an absence control.
+- Parse landed trailers key-agnostically with `^[A-Za-z-]+-[Bb]y:` and record generated poster pair presence/absence plus resulting poster attribution.
+- Record `/users/<login>` status and raw email only as non-gating estate telemetry. Never read `active`, `visibility`, or any profile field as an identity gate.
+- Use distinct principals: poster `be-coder-08`, merger `Mos`, Arm A `be-coder-07`, and Arm B `be-coder-06`. Capture every trailer-shaped line verbatim and in order. Zero trailer lines means the generator did not fire and the run is `VOID`, not evidence that either arm dropped.
+- Report the same read-back evidence to `mos-claude` on socket `default` and `tl-mosaic` on socket `mosaic-fleet`. Report values rather than mechanism inferences and stop on any poster-attribution regression.
+
+## Fixture preflight
+
+- Retained public repository: `mosaicstack/prmerge-trailer-fixture`; PR `#1`, posted by `be-coder-08` and reserved for merge by `Mos`.
+- Existing `mosaicstack/stack` commits resolve `be-coder-07` and `be-coder-06` through `author.login`; exact addresses are `[email protected]` and `[email protected]`.
+- Non-gating HOMELAB telemetry for authenticated reader `be-coder-08`: `/api/v1/users/be-coder-06` returned HTTP 200 with raw `email` value `[email protected]`.
+- Provider preflight showed PR commit enumeration is newest-first. A new RED test proved that deriving `head_commit_id` from the final array element selected the wrong commit. The candidate now reads `.head.sha` from the authenticated PR endpoint before enumeration, verifies it appears in the commit set, and atomically pins that SHA in the explicit squash payload. RED: `/home/hermes/agent-work/be-coder-08/evidence/prmerge-head-order-red.log`.
+- Fixture PR head `f6ba6e5105031fa21f5ff7bd8e4379d99c16e1de` has `author.login=be-coder-07`, `committer.login=be-coder-08`, and branch-message trailer `Co-authored-by: be-coder-06 <[email protected]>`.
+
+## Fixture result
+
+- `Mos` merged retained fixture PR `#1` through staged candidate SHA-256 `60e779a85fd13b729d859ea7c986d1e9b1641b97991611329226c1b3113ffb6e`; resulting squash commit: `3f550715d9bc716426fd355a65fe997b3a90fa7d` with one parent.
+- Provider read-back: poster/commit author `be-coder-08`, committer/merger `Mos`. The run is non-void.
+- Trailer-shaped lines, verbatim and in order:
+  1. `Co-authored-by: be-coder-07 <[email protected]>`
+  2. `Co-authored-by: be-coder-08 <[email protected]>`
+- Arm A supplied field value (`be-coder-07`) landed. Arm B branch trailer (`be-coder-06`) dropped. Both fabricated absence controls remained absent. No `Co-committed-by:` line landed.
+- The candidate payload construction explicitly excludes the poster and supplied only the Arm A `be-coder-07` line. Therefore the landed poster line was provider-generated, not candidate-composed. The raw result supports `FIELD LANDS`, `BRANCH DROPS`, and `POSTER GENERATED`; it does not support a claim that candidate code supplied the poster. Evidence: `/home/hermes/agent-work/be-coder-08/evidence/prmerge-fixture-readback.log` and the retained provider object.
+- Retained fixture PR `#2` measured the N=2 shape needed by `#1030`: supplied `be-coder-07` then `be-coder-06`; both landed in that order, followed by the provider-generated poster line. No truncation or dedup occurred at N=2. Resulting squash: `39db9d13aed0…`.
+
+## Current hold point
+
+PR `mosaicstack/stack#1066` is open. Its first frozen head `f4b162fa…` was terminal-green in Woodpecker `mosaic` pipeline `#2225`, but that evidence becomes stale when the canonical port moves the head. The deployed wrapper remains baseline `08a65e85…`; no manual copy will occur. Canonical port tests, commit amendment, rebase, one guarded force-with-lease, exact-head CI, and new independent review remain. Even after source merge, activation remains blocked on an assigned package-release/reseed owner and installed-byte read-back.
+
+## Security review 96 remediation
+
+Exact reviewed predecessor head: `1ceb11058f64dd7f4a817ceb2124f980a1c4dd23`.
+
+RED-first focused harness produced 10 named failures: all curl calls lacked size/time/connect bounds; raw ESC email reached mutation; oversized and stalled curl failures were discarded and reached mutation; nonempty Basic output with resolver rc 91 authorized mutation.
+
+Security remediation:
+
+- Removed the cross-principal HTTP-401 Basic fallback. Both inspection-401 and merge-401 paths now refuse without Basic resolution or mutation; `get_gitea_basic_auth` references in the merge subject are 0.
+- Applied `--max-filesize`, `--max-time`, and `--connect-timeout` to all 3/3 provider curl sites and fail closed on curl transport rc at all 3/3 sites.
+- Required linked email bytes to be ASCII and printable before constructing `MergeMessageField`; guarded construction sites 1/1.
+
+GREEN: message-field, exact-head, empty-UID/API, queue branch/repository/SHA, bash syntax, ShellCheck, and diff check pass. R7 total-removal mutants went RED: email guard 3 rows; bound switches 1 row; transport-rc guards 4 rows; HTTP-401 refusal 3 rows. R7 bound: mutants prove total removal only; explicit denominators above prove site coverage.

packages/mosaic/framework/runtime/pi/mosaic-extension.ts

@@ -38,8 +38,27 @@ const RECEIPT_OBSERVER_CLIENT = join(
   'lease-broker',
   'receipt-observer-client.py',
 );
+const LEASE_PROMOTE = join(MOSAIC_HOME, 'tools', 'lease-broker', 'lease_promote.py');
 const RECOVERY_TOOL = 'mosaic_context_recover';
 
+// Lazy lease promotion: a lease is promoted on the FIRST DENIED MUTATOR, not at
+// session start. Two reasons that matter:
+//
+//  1. Promotion costs a whole model turn, because the receipt must be the entire
+//     message (hmac.compare_digest, "not a transcript substring"). Doing it at
+//     session start would collide with the Constitution's first-response mode
+//     declaration — the two cannot share a message. Deferring it means the mode
+//     declaration happens first and the receipt gets its own later turn, so no
+//     governance change is required.
+//  2. A read-only session never pays for it at all.
+//
+// Bounded so a model that will not emit the receipt verbatim degrades to the
+// current behaviour (denied mutators) rather than looping forever.
+const MAX_PROMOTION_ATTEMPTS = 3;
+let pendingReceiptChallenge: string | null = null;
+let pendingReceiptText: string | null = null;
+let promotionAttempts = 0;
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Helpers
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -126,6 +145,63 @@ function runPiLeaseRevoker(args: string[]): boolean {
   return result.status === 0;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Mint a promotion challenge and return the instruction the model must follow.
+ *
+ * The receipt has to be the model's ENTIRE next message: the broker compares it
+ * with `hmac.compare_digest`, so any surrounding prose fails. Returning it as
+ * the tool_call block `reason` is what puts it in front of the model — pi feeds
+ * that string back as the tool result.
+ *
+ * This never posts the receipt itself. `receipt-observer-client.py` would accept
+ * any string, so self-posting would satisfy the broker while proving nothing;
+ * the whole point of the exchange is that a live model echoes the challenge.
+ */
+function beginPiPromotion(): string | undefined {
+  if (promotionAttempts >= MAX_PROMOTION_ATTEMPTS) return undefined;
+  const result = spawnSync('python3', [LEASE_PROMOTE, '--begin'], {
+    encoding: 'utf8',
+    timeout: 10_000,
+    env: process.env,
+  });
+  if (result.status !== 0) return undefined;
+  try {
+    const reply = JSON.parse(String(result.stdout)) as {
+      ok?: boolean;
+      receipt?: string;
+      receipt_challenge?: string;
+    };
+    if (reply.ok !== true || !reply.receipt || !reply.receipt_challenge) return undefined;
+    pendingReceiptChallenge = reply.receipt_challenge;
+    pendingReceiptText = reply.receipt;
+    promotionAttempts += 1;
+    return reply.receipt;
+  } catch {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+}
+
+/** Complete promotion after the model emitted the receipt and message_end
+ * shipped it to the observer. Returns true when the lease reached VERIFIED. */
+function completePiPromotion(): boolean {
+  const challenge = pendingReceiptChallenge;
+  if (!challenge) return false;
+  pendingReceiptChallenge = null;
+  pendingReceiptText = null;
+  const result = spawnSync('python3', [LEASE_PROMOTE, '--complete', challenge], {
+    encoding: 'utf8',
+    timeout: 10_000,
+    env: process.env,
+  });
+  if (result.status !== 0) return false;
+  try {
+    const reply = JSON.parse(String(result.stdout)) as { state?: string };
+    return reply.state === 'VERIFIED';
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
 function checkPiMutatorGate(toolName: string): { block: true; reason: string } | undefined {
   const result = spawnSync('python3', [MUTATOR_GATE, '--runtime', 'pi'], {
     input: `${JSON.stringify({ tool_name: toolName })}\n`,
@@ -137,6 +213,29 @@ function checkPiMutatorGate(toolName: string): { block: true; reason: string } |
   const detail = String(result.stderr ?? '')
     .trim()
     .split('\n')[0];
+
+  // Only an UNVERIFIED lease is promotable. Any other denial (GATE_UNAVAILABLE,
+  // STALE_GENERATION, LEASE_EXPIRED, ANCESTRY_MISMATCH) means something is wrong
+  // that a receipt cannot fix — minting there would thrash the broker, since
+  // begin_verification revokes before it mints.
+  if (detail.includes('MUTATOR_UNVERIFIED') && pendingReceiptChallenge === null) {
+    const receipt = beginPiPromotion();
+    if (receipt) {
+      return {
+        block: true,
+        reason:
+          `${detail}\n\n` +
+          'This session holds an UNVERIFIED lease, so mutators are denied. To ' +
+          'promote it, reply with the following text and NOTHING ELSE — no ' +
+          'preamble, no explanation, no code fence, no trailing text. It is ' +
+          'compared byte-for-byte, so any extra character fails:\n\n' +
+          `${receipt}\n\n` +
+          'Emit exactly that as your entire next message. The lease will then be ' +
+          'VERIFIED and you can retry this tool.',
+      };
+    }
+  }
+
   return {
     block: true,
     reason: detail || 'BLOCKED: Mosaic mutator gate is unavailable or the lease is UNVERIFIED.',
@@ -370,7 +469,29 @@ export default function register(pi: ExtensionAPI) {
   // Pi records only a finalized assistant entry at message_end. It never uses
   // after_provider_response, which occurs before stream consumption.
   pi.on('message_end', async (event) => {
-    recordPiMessageEnd((event as unknown as { message?: unknown }).message);
+    const message = (event as unknown as { message?: unknown }).message;
+    recordPiMessageEnd(message);
+    // Complete ONLY when the message just observed IS the receipt.
+    //
+    // message_end also fires for the message that CONTAINED the blocked tool
+    // call — i.e. one turn BEFORE the model emits the receipt. Completing there
+    // makes observe_receipt compare against the wrong text, fail, and burn the
+    // challenge before the model ever answers. Gating on an exact text match
+    // mirrors the broker's own hmac.compare_digest semantics and waits for the
+    // right turn.
+    //
+    // Order still matters within this handler: recordPiMessageEnd must have
+    // shipped the message to the observer before observe_receipt asks about it.
+    if (pendingReceiptChallenge !== null && pendingReceiptText !== null) {
+      if (assistantMessageText(message) === pendingReceiptText) {
+        if (completePiPromotion()) {
+          promotionAttempts = 0;
+        }
+        // On failure the challenge is cleared, so the next denied mutator mints
+        // a fresh one — bounded by MAX_PROMOTION_ATTEMPTS, after which the
+        // session simply stays UNVERIFIED rather than looping.
+      }
+    }
   });
 
   // The recovery custom tool is the only Pi invocation that maps to the

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/_scripts/mosaic-sync-skills

@@ -153,7 +153,24 @@ if [[ $link_only -eq 1 ]]; then
   exit 0
 fi
 
+# Skills are linked into the MOSAIC-OWNED harness homes, never a base install.
+# Paths mirror the config-dir env vars the launcher injects (HARNESS_HOME_ENV in
+# commands/launch.js):
+#   claude   CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR      -> <home>/skills
+#   pi       PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR    -> <home>/skills   (replaces ~/.pi/agent)
+#   codex    CODEX_HOME             -> <home>/skills
+#   opencode XDG_CONFIG_HOME        -> <home>/opencode/skills  (XDG adds a level)
 link_targets=(
+  "$MOSAIC_HOME/.claude/skills"
+  "$MOSAIC_HOME/.codex/skills"
+  "$MOSAIC_HOME/.opencode/opencode/skills"
+  "$MOSAIC_HOME/.pi/skills"
+)
+
+# Pre-isolation installs planted the same symlink farm directly in the operator's
+# base installs. Those are now orphaned: the launcher no longer reads them, but
+# they persist and make a "clean" base install look mosaic-managed.
+legacy_link_targets=(
   "$HOME/.claude/skills"
   "$HOME/.codex/skills"
   "$HOME/.config/opencode/skills"
@@ -252,6 +269,60 @@ prune_stale_links_in_target() {
   done < <(find "$target_dir" -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type l -print0)
 }
 
+# Remove mosaic-owned symlinks left in a base install by a pre-isolation sync.
+#
+# Ownership is proven by RESOLUTION, not by name: only links resolving inside the
+# canonical or local skills dirs are removed. Anything else — a real directory, a
+# link elsewhere, an unresolvable link — is left untouched. This mirrors the
+# refusal in commands/skill.js ("only symlinks pointing inside the Mosaic skills
+# directory are managed") and preserves e.g. codex's own `.system` dir.
+#
+# The directory itself is kept: mosaic-doctor warns when ~/.pi/agent/skills is
+# missing, and an empty dir is the correct end state, not an absent one.
+cleanup_legacy_target() {
+  local target_dir="$1"
+  local removed=0 kept=0
+
+  [[ -d "$target_dir" ]] || return 0
+
+  while IFS= read -r -d '' link_path; do
+    local resolved owned=0
+    resolved="$(readlink -m "$link_path" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+
+    # Guard the empty-prefix trap: an unset *_real would make "$resolved" == "/"*
+    # match every absolute path and delete foreign links.
+    if [[ -n "$resolved" ]]; then
+      if [[ -n "$canonical_real" && "$resolved" == "$canonical_real/"* ]]; then
+        owned=1
+      elif [[ -n "$local_real" && "$resolved" == "$local_real/"* ]]; then
+        owned=1
+      fi
+    fi
+
+    if [[ $owned -eq 1 ]]; then
+      rm -f "$link_path"
+      removed=$((removed + 1))
+    else
+      kept=$((kept + 1))
+    fi
+  done < <(find "$target_dir" -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type l -print0)
+
+  if [[ $removed -gt 0 ]]; then
+    echo "[mosaic-skills] Legacy cleanup: removed $removed mosaic symlink(s) from $target_dir (preserved $kept foreign)"
+  fi
+}
+
+for legacy in "${legacy_link_targets[@]}"; do
+  # Skip anything that is also a current target, so isolation can never
+  # self-destruct if the two lists ever overlap.
+  skip=0
+  for target in "${link_targets[@]}"; do
+    [[ "$legacy" == "$target" ]] && skip=1
+  done
+  [[ $skip -eq 1 ]] && continue
+  cleanup_legacy_target "$legacy"
+done
+
 for target in "${link_targets[@]}"; do
   mkdir -p "$target"
 

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/pr-merge.sh

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 # pr-merge.sh - Merge pull requests on Gitea or GitHub
-# Usage: pr-merge.sh -n PR_NUMBER [-m squash] [-d]
+# Usage: pr-merge.sh -n PR_NUMBER [-m squash] [-d] [--expect-head SHA] [--co-author-trailers --escalate-to PRINCIPAL]
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ MERGE_METHOD="squash"
 DELETE_BRANCH=false
 DRY_RUN=false
 EXPECT_HEAD=""
+CO_AUTHOR_TRAILERS=false
+ESCALATE_TO=""
 
 usage() {
     cat <<EOF
@@ -27,12 +29,16 @@ Options:
     -d, --delete-branch     Delete the head branch after merge
         --dry-run           Run metadata/login preflight without merging
         --expect-head SHA   Refuse unless the PR head matches this full commit SHA
+        --co-author-trailers Build verified trailers from linked PR commit authors
+        --escalate-to NAME  Named principal for an unresolved-author BLOCK
     -h, --help              Show this help message
 
 Examples:
     $(basename "$0") -n 42                    # Merge PR #42
     $(basename "$0") -n 42 -m squash          # Squash merge
     $(basename "$0") -n 42 -d                 # Squash merge and delete branch
+    $(basename "$0") -n 42 --expect-head 0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef01234567
+    $(basename "$0") -n 42 --co-author-trailers --escalate-to tl-mosaic
 EOF
     exit "${1:-1}"
 }
@@ -57,9 +63,25 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
             shift
             ;;
         --expect-head)
+            if [[ $# -lt 2 ]]; then
+                echo "Error: --expect-head requires one full commit SHA." >&2
+                exit 1
+            fi
             EXPECT_HEAD="$2"
             shift 2
             ;;
+        --co-author-trailers)
+            CO_AUTHOR_TRAILERS=true
+            shift
+            ;;
+        --escalate-to)
+            if [[ $# -lt 2 ]]; then
+                echo "Error: --escalate-to requires one principal name." >&2
+                exit 1
+            fi
+            ESCALATE_TO="$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
         -h|--help)
             usage 0
             ;;
@@ -88,17 +110,30 @@ if [[ -n "$EXPECT_HEAD" && ! "$EXPECT_HEAD" =~ ^[0-9a-fA-F]{40}$ ]]; then
     echo "Error: --expect-head must be a full 40-character hexadecimal commit SHA." >&2
     exit 1
 fi
+if [[ "$CO_AUTHOR_TRAILERS" == true && -z "$ESCALATE_TO" ]]; then
+    echo "Error: --co-author-trailers requires --escalate-to with a named principal." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+if [[ -n "$ESCALATE_TO" && ! "$ESCALATE_TO" =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9_.-]+$ ]]; then
+    echo "Error: --escalate-to must be one exact principal name." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+if [[ "$CO_AUTHOR_TRAILERS" != true && -n "$ESCALATE_TO" ]]; then
+    echo "Error: --escalate-to is valid only with --co-author-trailers." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
 
 PR_METADATA="$("$SCRIPT_DIR/pr-metadata.sh" -n "$PR_NUMBER")"
 BASE_BRANCH="$(printf '%s' "$PR_METADATA" | python3 -c 'import json, sys; print((json.load(sys.stdin).get("baseRefName") or "").strip())')"
 HEAD_BRANCH="$(printf '%s' "$PR_METADATA" | python3 -c 'import json, sys; print((json.load(sys.stdin).get("headRefName") or "").strip())')"
 HEAD_SHA="$(printf '%s' "$PR_METADATA" | python3 -c 'import json, sys; print((json.load(sys.stdin).get("headRefOid") or "").strip())')"
 HEAD_REPO="$(printf '%s' "$PR_METADATA" | python3 -c 'import json, sys; value=json.load(sys.stdin).get("headRepository") or ""; print((value.get("nameWithOwner") or value.get("full_name") or "") if isinstance(value, dict) else str(value).strip())')"
+PR_TITLE="$(printf '%s' "$PR_METADATA" | python3 -c 'import json, sys; print((json.load(sys.stdin).get("title") or "").strip())')"
+PR_AUTHOR="$(printf '%s' "$PR_METADATA" | python3 -c 'import json, sys; value=json.load(sys.stdin).get("author") or ""; print((value.get("login") or "").strip() if isinstance(value, dict) else str(value).strip())')"
 if [[ "$BASE_BRANCH" != "main" ]]; then
     echo "Error: Mosaic policy allows merges only for PRs targeting 'main' (found '$BASE_BRANCH')." >&2
     exit 1
 fi
-
 if [[ -z "$HEAD_BRANCH" || -z "$HEAD_REPO" || ! "$HEAD_SHA" =~ ^[0-9a-fA-F]{40}$ ]]; then
     echo "Error: Could not resolve the PR head branch, repository, and full commit SHA for queue inspection." >&2
     exit 1
@@ -122,70 +157,442 @@ PLATFORM=$(detect_platform)
 OWNER=$(get_repo_owner)
 REPO=$(get_repo_name)
 
-merge_gitea_with_api() {
-    local host="$1" api_url token basic_auth body_file raw_code payload
-    api_url="https://${host}/api/v1/repos/${OWNER}/${REPO}/pulls/${PR_NUMBER}/merge"
-    mkdir -p "${AGENT_WORK_ROOT:-${HOME:-/tmp}/mosaic/agent-work}"
-    body_file=$(mktemp "${AGENT_WORK_ROOT:-${HOME:-/tmp}/mosaic/agent-work}/pr-merge-api-response.XXXXXX")
-    payload=$(python3 - "$HEAD_SHA" "$DELETE_BRANCH" <<'PY'
+write_curl_auth_config() {
+    local mode="$1" credential="$2"
+    printf '%s' "$credential" | python3 -c '
+import sys
+mode = sys.argv[1]
+credential = sys.stdin.read()
+if not credential or any(char in credential for char in "\r\n"):
+    raise SystemExit(1)
+escaped = credential.replace("\\", "\\\\").replace("\"", "\\\"")
+if mode == "token":
+    print(f"header = \"Authorization: token {escaped}\"")
+elif mode == "basic":
+    print(f"user = \"{escaped}\"")
+else:
+    raise SystemExit(1)
+' "$mode"
+}
+
+LAST_GITEA_HTTP_CODE="000"
+LAST_GITEA_ERROR=""
+MERGE_TEMP_DIRS=()
+GITEA_CURL_MAX_BYTES="${MOSAIC_GITEA_CURL_MAX_BYTES:-1048576}"
+GITEA_CURL_MAX_TIME="${MOSAIC_GITEA_CURL_MAX_TIME_SEC:-30}"
+GITEA_CURL_CONNECT_TIMEOUT="${MOSAIC_GITEA_CURL_CONNECT_TIMEOUT_SEC:-10}"
+for bound in "$GITEA_CURL_MAX_BYTES" "$GITEA_CURL_MAX_TIME" "$GITEA_CURL_CONNECT_TIMEOUT"; do
+    if [[ ! "$bound" =~ ^[1-9][0-9]*$ ]]; then
+        echo "Error: Gitea curl bounds must be positive integers; refusing request." >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+done
+GITEA_CURL_BOUNDS=(
+    --max-filesize "$GITEA_CURL_MAX_BYTES"
+    --max-time "$GITEA_CURL_MAX_TIME"
+    --connect-timeout "$GITEA_CURL_CONNECT_TIMEOUT"
+)
+
+format_gitea_error_response() {
+    local response_file="$1"
+    python3 - "$response_file" <<'PY'
 import json
 import sys
 
-head_sha, delete_branch = sys.argv[1:]
+with open(sys.argv[1], "rb") as handle:
+    raw = handle.read(65536)
+try:
+    response = json.loads(raw.decode("utf-8", errors="replace"))
+except (UnicodeDecodeError, json.JSONDecodeError):
+    message = "non-JSON response omitted"
+else:
+    if isinstance(response, dict):
+        message = response.get("message") or response.get("error")
+        if not message and response.get("errors") is not None:
+            message = json.dumps(response["errors"], separators=(",", ":"))
+    else:
+        message = None
+    if not message:
+        message = "JSON response contained no error message"
+message = str(message)
+if len(message) > 500:
+    message = message[:500] + "..."
+print(ascii(message))
+PY
+}
+
+cleanup_merge_temp_dirs() {
+    local path
+    for path in "${MERGE_TEMP_DIRS[@]}"; do
+        [[ -n "$path" ]] && rm -rf -- "$path"
+    done
+}
+trap cleanup_merge_temp_dirs EXIT
+trap 'exit 130' INT
+trap 'exit 143' TERM
+
+fetch_gitea_pr_head() {
+    local host="$1" auth_mode="$2" credential="$3" work_root="$4"
+    local response_file raw_code api_url auth_config curl_rc
+    response_file=$(mktemp "$work_root/pr-merge-pr.XXXXXX")
+    api_url="https://${host}/api/v1/repos/${OWNER}/${REPO}/pulls/${PR_NUMBER}"
+    if ! auth_config=$(write_curl_auth_config "$auth_mode" "$credential"); then
+        echo "Error: Could not construct Gitea authentication config; refusing request." >&2
+        rm -f "$response_file"
+        return 1
+    fi
+    raw_code=$(curl -sS -K - "${GITEA_CURL_BOUNDS[@]}" -w '%{http_code}' -o "$response_file" \
+        -H "User-Agent: curl/8" "$api_url" <<<"$auth_config")
+    curl_rc=$?
+    LAST_GITEA_HTTP_CODE="${raw_code:-000}"
+    if [[ "$curl_rc" -ne 0 ]]; then
+        LAST_GITEA_ERROR="curl transport failed (rc=$curl_rc)"
+        rm -f "$response_file"
+        return 1
+    fi
+    if [[ ! "$raw_code" =~ ^2 ]]; then
+        LAST_GITEA_ERROR=$(format_gitea_error_response "$response_file")
+        rm -f "$response_file"
+        return 1
+    fi
+    if ! python3 - "$response_file" <<'PY'
+import json
+import re
+import sys
+
+with open(sys.argv[1], encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+    pull = json.load(handle)
+head = pull.get("head") if isinstance(pull, dict) else None
+sha = str(head.get("sha") or "") if isinstance(head, dict) else ""
+if not re.fullmatch(r"[0-9a-fA-F]{40}", sha):
+    raise SystemExit(1)
+print(sha)
+PY
+    then
+        echo "Error: Gitea PR response has no valid head SHA; refusing merge." >&2
+        rm -f "$response_file"
+        return 1
+    fi
+    rm -f "$response_file"
+}
+
+fetch_gitea_pr_commits() {
+    local host="$1" auth_mode="$2" credential="$3" work_root="$4"
+    local page page_file combined_file merged_file raw_code page_count api_url auth_config curl_rc
+    mkdir -p "$work_root"
+    if ! auth_config=$(write_curl_auth_config "$auth_mode" "$credential"); then
+        echo "Error: Could not construct Gitea authentication config; refusing request." >&2
+        return 1
+    fi
+    combined_file=$(mktemp "$work_root/pr-merge-commits.XXXXXX")
+    printf '[]' > "$combined_file"
+
+    page=1
+    while true; do
+        page_file=$(mktemp "$work_root/pr-merge-commits-page.XXXXXX")
+        api_url="https://${host}/api/v1/repos/${OWNER}/${REPO}/pulls/${PR_NUMBER}/commits?limit=50&page=${page}"
+        raw_code=$(curl -sS -K - "${GITEA_CURL_BOUNDS[@]}" -w '%{http_code}' -o "$page_file" \
+            -H "User-Agent: curl/8" "$api_url" <<<"$auth_config")
+        curl_rc=$?
+        LAST_GITEA_HTTP_CODE="${raw_code:-000}"
+        if [[ "$curl_rc" -ne 0 ]]; then
+            LAST_GITEA_ERROR="curl transport failed (rc=$curl_rc)"
+            rm -f "$page_file" "$combined_file"
+            return 1
+        fi
+        if [[ ! "$raw_code" =~ ^2 ]]; then
+            LAST_GITEA_ERROR=$(format_gitea_error_response "$page_file")
+            rm -f "$page_file" "$combined_file"
+            return 1
+        fi
+
+        if ! page_count=$(python3 - "$page_file" <<'PY'
+import json
+import sys
+
+with open(sys.argv[1], encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+    page = json.load(handle)
+if not isinstance(page, list):
+    raise SystemExit(1)
+print(len(page))
+PY
+        ); then
+            echo "Error: Gitea PR commits response is not a JSON array; refusing merge." >&2
+            rm -f "$page_file" "$combined_file"
+            return 1
+        fi
+
+        merged_file=$(mktemp "$work_root/pr-merge-commits-merged.XXXXXX")
+        if ! python3 - "$combined_file" "$page_file" > "$merged_file" <<'PY'
+import json
+import sys
+
+with open(sys.argv[1], encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+    combined = json.load(handle)
+with open(sys.argv[2], encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+    page = json.load(handle)
+json.dump(combined + page, sys.stdout, separators=(",", ":"))
+PY
+        then
+            echo "Error: Could not combine paginated PR commit metadata; refusing merge." >&2
+            rm -f "$page_file" "$combined_file" "$merged_file"
+            return 1
+        fi
+        mv "$merged_file" "$combined_file"
+        rm -f "$page_file"
+
+        if [[ "$page_count" -lt 50 ]]; then
+            break
+        fi
+        page=$((page + 1))
+        if [[ "$page" -gt 1000 ]]; then
+            echo "Error: PR commit pagination exceeded 1000 pages; refusing merge." >&2
+            rm -f "$combined_file"
+            return 1
+        fi
+    done
+
+    cat "$combined_file"
+    rm -f "$combined_file"
+}
+
+# LIMITATION: author.login resolution proves the commit address maps to a registered account.
+# It does NOT prove the named principal authored the commit — git author metadata is self-asserted.
+# This gate checks ATTRIBUTION LINKAGE, not AUTHORSHIP. Commit signing is out of scope and unadopted.
+build_coauthor_message_fields() {
+    local commits_file="$1" context_file="$2" head_file="$3"
+    python3 - "$commits_file" "$context_file" "$head_file" <<'PY'
+import json
+import re
+import sys
+
+commits_path, context_path, head_path = sys.argv[1:]
+with open(commits_path, encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+    commits = json.load(handle)
+head_sha = open(head_path, encoding="utf-8").read().strip()
+context_parts = open(context_path, "rb").read().split(b"\0")
+if len(context_parts) != 4 or context_parts[-1] != b"":
+    raise SystemExit(1)
+poster, title, principal = (part.decode("utf-8") for part in context_parts[:3])
+
+if not isinstance(commits, list) or not commits:
+    print(
+        f"BLOCK: provider returned no PR commits; author identity is unmeasurable. "
+        f"Refusing merge; escalate to named principal '{principal}'.",
+        file=sys.stderr,
+    )
+    raise SystemExit(75)
+if not poster:
+    print(
+        f"BLOCK: PR poster login is empty; refusing merge; "
+        f"escalate to named principal '{principal}'.",
+        file=sys.stderr,
+    )
+    raise SystemExit(75)
+
+if not re.fullmatch(r"[0-9a-fA-F]{40}", head_sha):
+    print(
+        f"BLOCK: inspected PR head SHA is invalid; refusing merge; "
+        f"escalate to named principal '{principal}'.",
+        file=sys.stderr,
+    )
+    raise SystemExit(75)
+
+seen = set()
+trailers = []
+head_seen = False
+for item in commits:
+    if not isinstance(item, dict):
+        print(f"BLOCK: malformed PR commit metadata; escalate to named principal '{principal}'.", file=sys.stderr)
+        raise SystemExit(75)
+    sha = str(item.get("sha") or "<unknown>")
+    if sha == head_sha:
+        head_seen = True
+    commit = item.get("commit") if isinstance(item.get("commit"), dict) else {}
+    commit_author = commit.get("author") if isinstance(commit.get("author"), dict) else {}
+    email = str(commit_author.get("email") or "").strip()
+    provider_author = item.get("author") if isinstance(item.get("author"), dict) else {}
+    login = str(provider_author.get("login") or "").strip()
+
+    if not login:
+        diagnostic_email = email or "<missing>"
+        print(
+            f"BLOCK: commit {sha!r} has author.login=NULL while "
+            f"commit.author.email={diagnostic_email!r}; refusing merge; "
+            f"escalate to named principal '{principal}'.",
+            file=sys.stderr,
+        )
+        raise SystemExit(75)
+    if (
+        not email.isascii()
+        or not email.isprintable()
+        or not re.fullmatch(r"[A-Za-z0-9_.-]+", login)
+        or not re.fullmatch(r"[^<>\s]+@[^<>\s]+", email)
+    ):
+        print(
+            f"BLOCK: commit {sha!r} has unusable linked identity "
+            f"author.login={login!r}, commit.author.email={email!r}; refusing merge; "
+            f"escalate to named principal '{principal}'.",
+            file=sys.stderr,
+        )
+        raise SystemExit(75)
+    if login == poster or login in seen:
+        continue
+    seen.add(login)
+    trailers.append(f"Co-authored-by: {login} <{email}>")
+
+if not head_seen:
+    print(
+        f"BLOCK: inspected PR head is absent from commit enumeration; refusing merge; "
+        f"escalate to named principal '{principal}'.",
+        file=sys.stderr,
+    )
+    raise SystemExit(75)
+if not trailers:
+    print("{}")
+    raise SystemExit(0)
+if not title:
+    print(
+        f"BLOCK: PR title is empty; refusing merge; escalate to named principal '{principal}'.",
+        file=sys.stderr,
+    )
+    raise SystemExit(75)
+if not title.isprintable() or re.match(r"^[A-Za-z-]+-[Bb]y:", title):
+    print(
+        f"BLOCK: PR title is not one printable, non-trailer line; refusing merge; "
+        f"escalate to named principal '{principal}'.",
+        file=sys.stderr,
+    )
+    raise SystemExit(75)
+
+print(json.dumps({
+    "MergeTitleField": title,
+    "MergeMessageField": "\n".join(trailers),
+}, separators=(",", ":")))
+PY
+}
+
+merge_gitea_api_attempt() {
+    local host="$1" auth_mode="$2" credential="$3"
+    local api_url attempt_dir body_file raw_code commits_file fields_file context_file head_file payload_file work_root attempt_rc auth_config curl_rc
+    LAST_GITEA_HTTP_CODE="000"
+    LAST_GITEA_ERROR=""
+    api_url="https://${host}/api/v1/repos/${OWNER}/${REPO}/pulls/${PR_NUMBER}/merge"
+    work_root="${AGENT_WORK_ROOT:-${HOME:-/tmp}/mosaic/agent-work}"
+    mkdir -p "$work_root"
+    attempt_dir=$(mktemp -d "$work_root/pr-merge-attempt.XXXXXX")
+    chmod 0700 "$attempt_dir"
+    MERGE_TEMP_DIRS+=("$attempt_dir")
+    body_file=$(mktemp "$attempt_dir/api-response.XXXXXX")
+    fields_file=$(mktemp "$attempt_dir/message-fields.XXXXXX")
+    payload_file=$(mktemp "$attempt_dir/payload.XXXXXX")
+    printf '{}' > "$fields_file"
+
+    if [[ "$CO_AUTHOR_TRAILERS" == true ]]; then
+        commits_file=$(mktemp "$attempt_dir/pr-merge-commits-input.XXXXXX")
+        context_file=$(mktemp "$attempt_dir/pr-merge-message-context.XXXXXX")
+        head_file=$(mktemp "$attempt_dir/pr-merge-head-input.XXXXXX")
+        printf '%s\0%s\0%s\0' "$PR_AUTHOR" "$PR_TITLE" "$ESCALATE_TO" > "$context_file"
+        if fetch_gitea_pr_head "$host" "$auth_mode" "$credential" "$attempt_dir" > "$head_file"; then
+            :
+        else
+            attempt_rc=$?
+            rm -f "$body_file" "$fields_file" "$payload_file" "$commits_file" "$context_file" "$head_file"
+            return "$attempt_rc"
+        fi
+        if [[ "$(<"$head_file")" != "$HEAD_SHA" ]]; then
+            echo "BLOCK: authenticated PR head moved from reviewed $HEAD_SHA to $(<"$head_file"); refusing merge; escalate to named principal '$ESCALATE_TO'." >&2
+            rm -f "$body_file" "$fields_file" "$payload_file" "$commits_file" "$context_file" "$head_file"
+            return 75
+        fi
+        if fetch_gitea_pr_commits "$host" "$auth_mode" "$credential" "$attempt_dir" > "$commits_file"; then
+            :
+        else
+            attempt_rc=$?
+            rm -f "$body_file" "$fields_file" "$payload_file" "$commits_file" "$context_file" "$head_file"
+            return "$attempt_rc"
+        fi
+        if build_coauthor_message_fields "$commits_file" "$context_file" "$head_file" > "$fields_file"; then
+            :
+        else
+            attempt_rc=$?
+            rm -f "$body_file" "$fields_file" "$payload_file" "$commits_file" "$context_file" "$head_file"
+            return "$attempt_rc"
+        fi
+        rm -f "$commits_file" "$context_file" "$head_file"
+    fi
+
+    if ! python3 - "$fields_file" "$HEAD_SHA" "$DELETE_BRANCH" > "$payload_file" <<'PY'
+import json
+import sys
+
+with open(sys.argv[1], encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+    fields = json.load(handle)
+head_sha, delete_branch = sys.argv[2:]
 payload = {"Do": "squash", "head_commit_id": head_sha}
 if delete_branch == "true":
     payload["delete_branch_after_merge"] = True
+payload.update(fields)
+allowed = {"Do", "head_commit_id", "delete_branch_after_merge", "MergeTitleField", "MergeMessageField"}
+if payload.get("Do") != "squash" or set(payload) - allowed:
+    raise SystemExit(1)
 print(json.dumps(payload, separators=(",", ":")))
 PY
-)
-
-    token=$(get_gitea_token "$host" || true)
-    if [[ -n "$token" ]]; then
-        raw_code=$(curl -sS -w '%{http_code}' -o "$body_file" \
-            -X POST \
-            -H "User-Agent: curl/8" \
-            -H "Authorization: token $token" \
-            -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-            -d "$payload" \
-            "$api_url" || true)
-        if [[ "$raw_code" =~ ^2 ]]; then
-            rm -f "$body_file"
-            return 0
-        fi
+    then
+        rm -f "$body_file" "$fields_file" "$payload_file"
+        return 1
     fi
+    rm -f "$fields_file"
 
-    basic_auth=$(get_gitea_basic_auth "$host" || true)
-    if [[ -n "$basic_auth" ]]; then
-        raw_code=$(curl -sS -w '%{http_code}' -o "$body_file" \
-            -X POST \
-            -u "$basic_auth" \
-            -H "User-Agent: curl/8" \
-            -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-            -d "$payload" \
-            "$api_url" || true)
-        if [[ "$raw_code" =~ ^2 ]]; then
-            rm -f "$body_file"
-            return 0
-        fi
+    if ! auth_config=$(write_curl_auth_config "$auth_mode" "$credential"); then
+        echo "Error: Could not construct Gitea authentication config; refusing request." >&2
+        rm -f "$body_file" "$payload_file"
+        return 1
     fi
+    raw_code=$(curl -sS -K - "${GITEA_CURL_BOUNDS[@]}" -w '%{http_code}' -o "$body_file" \
+        -X POST -H "User-Agent: curl/8" \
+        -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
+        --data-binary "@$payload_file" "$api_url" <<<"$auth_config")
+    curl_rc=$?
+    LAST_GITEA_HTTP_CODE="${raw_code:-000}"
+    if [[ "$curl_rc" -ne 0 ]]; then
+        LAST_GITEA_ERROR="curl transport failed (rc=$curl_rc)"
+        rm -f "$body_file" "$payload_file"
+        rm -rf -- "$attempt_dir"
+        return 1
+    fi
+    if [[ ! "$raw_code" =~ ^2 ]]; then
+        LAST_GITEA_ERROR=$(format_gitea_error_response "$body_file")
+    fi
+    rm -f "$body_file" "$payload_file"
+    rm -rf -- "$attempt_dir"
+    [[ "$raw_code" =~ ^2 ]]
+}
 
-    python3 - "${raw_code:-000}" "$body_file" <<'PY' >&2
-import json
-import sys
-code, path = sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2]
-try:
-    with open(path, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace") as handle:
-        raw = handle.read(500)
-    data = json.loads(raw) if raw else {}
-    message = data.get("message") or data.get("error") or raw or "empty response"
-except Exception:
-    try:
-        message = open(path, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace").read(500) or "empty response"
-    except Exception:
-        message = "unreadable response"
-print(f"Error: Gitea API merge failed with HTTP {code}: {message}")
-PY
-    rm -f "$body_file"
+merge_gitea_with_api() {
+    local host="$1" token attempt_rc
+
+    if ! token=$(get_gitea_token "$host"); then
+        echo "Error: Could not resolve the required Gitea token; refusing merge without changing principals." >&2
+        return 1
+    fi
+    if [[ -z "$token" ]]; then
+        echo "Error: Required Gitea token resolved empty; refusing merge without changing principals." >&2
+        return 1
+    fi
+    if merge_gitea_api_attempt "$host" token "$token"; then
+        return 0
+    else
+        attempt_rc=$?
+    fi
+    if [[ "$attempt_rc" -eq 75 ]]; then
+        return 75
+    fi
+    if [[ "$LAST_GITEA_HTTP_CODE" != "401" ]]; then
+        echo "Error: Gitea API merge failed with the identity-bound token (HTTP ${LAST_GITEA_HTTP_CODE:-000}).${LAST_GITEA_ERROR:+ Provider response: $LAST_GITEA_ERROR}" >&2
+        return 1
+    fi
+    echo "Error: Gitea API rejected the identity-bound token with HTTP 401; refusing cross-principal credential fallback." >&2
     return 1
 }
 
@@ -195,11 +602,10 @@ if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == true ]]; then
             echo "Error: Cannot determine host from origin remote URL" >&2
             exit 1
         }
-        TEA_LOGIN="$(get_gitea_login_for_host "$HOST" || true)"
-        if [[ -n "$TEA_LOGIN" ]]; then
-            echo "Dry run: would merge PR #$PR_NUMBER on $HOST with tea login '$TEA_LOGIN' (base=$BASE_BRANCH, method=squash)."
+        if [[ "$CO_AUTHOR_TRAILERS" == true ]]; then
+            echo "Dry run: would verify PR commit authors and merge PR #$PR_NUMBER on $HOST with authenticated Gitea API message fields (base=$BASE_BRANCH, method=squash)."
         else
-            echo "Dry run: would merge PR #$PR_NUMBER on $HOST with authenticated Gitea API fallback (base=$BASE_BRANCH, method=squash)."
+            echo "Dry run: would merge PR #$PR_NUMBER on $HOST with the authenticated exact-head Gitea API path (base=$BASE_BRANCH, method=squash)."
         fi
     else
         echo "Dry run: would merge PR #$PR_NUMBER on $PLATFORM (base=$BASE_BRANCH, method=squash)."
@@ -209,6 +615,10 @@ fi
 
 case "$PLATFORM" in
     github)
+        if [[ "$CO_AUTHOR_TRAILERS" == true ]]; then
+            echo "Error: --co-author-trailers currently requires the Gitea REST message-field contract." >&2
+            exit 1
+        fi
         cmd=(gh pr merge "$PR_NUMBER" --squash --match-head-commit "$HEAD_SHA")
         [[ "$DELETE_BRANCH" == true ]] && cmd+=(--delete-branch)
         "${cmd[@]}"
@@ -219,7 +629,7 @@ case "$PLATFORM" in
             exit 1
         }
         # Gitea's API head_commit_id is an atomic compare-and-merge precondition.
-        # tea cannot express it, so exact-head merges use the authenticated API path.
+        # tea cannot express it, so every Gitea merge uses the authenticated API path.
         merge_gitea_with_api "$HOST"
         ;;
     *)

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-gitea-empty-uid.sh

@@ -51,22 +51,23 @@ for arg in "$@"; do
         prev=""
         continue
     fi
-    if [[ "$prev" == "-d" ]]; then
+    if [[ "$prev" == "data" ]]; then
         post_data="$arg"
+        [[ "$post_data" == @* ]] && post_data=$(<"${post_data#@}")
         prev=""
         continue
     fi
-    if [[ "$arg" == "-o" ]]; then
-        prev="-o"
+    if [[ "$prev" == "config" ]]; then
+        [[ "$arg" == "-" ]] && cat >/dev/null
+        prev=""
         continue
     fi
-    if [[ "$arg" == "-d" ]]; then
-        prev="-d"
-        continue
-    fi
-    if [[ "$arg" == "-w" ]]; then
-        write_code=true
-    fi
+    case "$arg" in
+        -o) prev="-o" ;;
+        -d|--data|--data-binary) prev="data" ;;
+        -K|--config) prev="config" ;;
+        -w) write_code=true ;;
+    esac
 done
 emit_response() {
     local body="$1"

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-head-pin.sh

@@ -36,13 +36,30 @@ cat > "$WORK_DIR/gitea/curl" <<'SH'
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -euo pipefail
 payload=""
-for ((i=1; i<=$#; i++)); do
-    if [[ "${!i}" == "-d" ]]; then
-        j=$((i + 1))
-        payload="${!j}"
-    fi
+out_file=""
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case "$1" in
+        -d|--data|--data-binary)
+            payload="$2"
+            [[ "$payload" == @* ]] && payload=$(<"${payload#@}")
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        -o)
+            out_file="$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        -K|--config)
+            [[ "$2" == "-" ]] && cat >/dev/null
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        -w|-X|-H)
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        *) shift ;;
+    esac
 done
 printf '%s' "$payload" > "${MOSAIC_MERGE_PAYLOAD_LOG:?}"
+[[ -n "$out_file" ]] && printf '{}' > "$out_file"
 printf '200'
 SH
 chmod +x "$WORK_DIR/gitea/curl"

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-message-field.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,541 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Regression harness for the optional, identity-checked Gitea squash message.
+
+set -u
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+SUBJECT="${MOSAIC_TEST_SUBJECT:-$SCRIPT_DIR/pr-merge.sh}"
+WORK_DIR="${MOSAIC_TEST_WORK_DIR:-$PWD/.mosaic-test-work/pr-merge-message-field}"
+ORIG_PATH="$PATH"
+failures=0
+
+rm -rf "$WORK_DIR"
+mkdir -p "$WORK_DIR"
+
+fail() {
+    echo "FAIL $1" >&2
+    failures=$((failures + 1))
+}
+
+make_case() {
+    local name="$1" case_dir
+    case_dir="$WORK_DIR/$name"
+    mkdir -p "$case_dir/bin" "$case_dir/agent"
+    cp "$SUBJECT" "$case_dir/pr-merge.sh"
+    chmod +x "$case_dir/pr-merge.sh"
+
+    cat > "$case_dir/detect-platform.sh" <<'SH'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+detect_platform() { PLATFORM=gitea; printf 'gitea\n'; }
+get_repo_owner() { printf 'acme\n'; }
+get_repo_name() { printf 'widgets\n'; }
+get_remote_host() { printf 'git.example.test\n'; }
+get_gitea_token() {
+    printf 'resolved\n' >> "${MOSAIC_TEST_TOKEN_RESOLUTION_LOG:?}"
+    if [[ "${MOSAIC_TEST_TOKEN_AVAILABLE:-true}" != "true" ]]; then
+        return 1
+    fi
+    printf 'fixture-token\n'
+}
+get_gitea_basic_auth() {
+    printf 'resolved\n' >> "${MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_RESOLUTION_LOG:?}"
+    if [[ "${MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_AVAILABLE:-false}" == "true" ]]; then
+        printf 'fixture-user:fixture-password\n'
+        return "${MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_RC:-0}"
+    fi
+    return 1
+}
+get_gitea_login_for_host() { return 1; }
+SH
+
+    cat > "$case_dir/pr-metadata.sh" <<'SH'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+if [[ "${MOSAIC_TEST_TITLE_MODE:-safe}" == "injection" ]]; then
+    title='Preserve authors\n\nCo-authored-by: victim <[email protected]>'
+else
+    title='Preserve both branch authors'
+fi
+case "${MOSAIC_TEST_COMMITS_MODE:?}" in
+    verified) head_sha=2222222222222222222222222222222222222222 ;;
+    null-login|unsafe-identity) head_sha=3333333333333333333333333333333333333333 ;;
+    single) head_sha=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111 ;;
+    *) echo "unknown commits mode" >&2; exit 2 ;;
+esac
+printf '{"number":42,"title":"%s","author":"poster","baseRefName":"main","headRefName":"feature/fixture","headRefOid":"%s","headRepository":"acme/widgets"}\n' "$title" "$head_sha"
+SH
+
+    cat > "$case_dir/ci-queue-wait.sh" <<'SH'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+exit 0
+SH
+
+    cat > "$case_dir/bin/python3" <<'SH'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+for arg in "$@"; do
+    case "$arg" in
+        *"Preserve both branch authors"*|*"[email protected]"*)
+            : > "${MOSAIC_TEST_METADATA_ARGV_MARKER:?}"
+            ;;
+    esac
+done
+exec "${MOSAIC_TEST_REAL_PYTHON:?}" "$@"
+SH
+
+    cat > "$case_dir/bin/curl" <<'SH'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eu
+
+for arg in "$@"; do
+    case "$arg" in
+        *"Preserve both branch authors"*|*"[email protected]"*)
+            : > "${MOSAIC_TEST_METADATA_ARGV_MARKER:?}"
+            ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+url=""
+method="GET"
+out_file=""
+data=""
+config=""
+auth_mode="none"
+has_max_filesize=0
+has_max_time=0
+has_connect_timeout=0
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case "$1" in
+        -o)
+            out_file="$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        -w)
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        -X)
+            method="$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        -d|--data|--data-binary)
+            data="$2"
+            if [[ "$data" == @* ]]; then
+                data=$(<"${data#@}")
+            fi
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        -K|--config)
+            if [[ "$2" == "-" ]]; then
+                config=$(cat)
+            fi
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        --max-filesize)
+            has_max_filesize=1
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        --max-time)
+            has_max_time=1
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        --connect-timeout)
+            has_connect_timeout=1
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        -H|--header|-u|--user)
+            if [[ "$2" == *"fixture-token"* ]]; then
+                : > "${MOSAIC_TEST_TOKEN_ARGV_MARKER:?}"
+            fi
+            if [[ "$2" == *"fixture-password"* ]]; then
+                : > "${MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_ARGV_MARKER:?}"
+            fi
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        http://*|https://*)
+            url="$1"
+            shift
+            ;;
+        *)
+            shift
+            ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+if [[ "$config" == *"Authorization: token fixture-token"* ]]; then
+    auth_mode="token"
+    : > "${MOSAIC_TEST_AUTH_CONFIG_MARKER:?}"
+elif [[ "$config" == *"user = \"fixture-user:fixture-password\""* ]]; then
+    auth_mode="basic"
+    : > "${MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_CONFIG_MARKER:?}"
+fi
+printf '%s %s %s\n' "$method" "$auth_mode" "$url" >> "${MOSAIC_TEST_CURL_LOG:?}"
+printf '%s:%s:%s\n' "$has_max_filesize" "$has_max_time" "$has_connect_timeout" >> "${MOSAIC_TEST_CURL_BOUNDS_LOG:?}"
+
+case "$url" in
+    */pulls/42)
+        case "${MOSAIC_TEST_COMMITS_MODE:?}" in
+            verified) head_sha=2222222222222222222222222222222222222222 ;;
+            null-login|unsafe-identity) head_sha=3333333333333333333333333333333333333333 ;;
+            single) head_sha=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111 ;;
+            *) echo "unknown commits mode" >&2; exit 2 ;;
+        esac
+        if [[ "${MOSAIC_TEST_HEAD_MODE:-stable}" == "moved" ]]; then
+            head_sha=4444444444444444444444444444444444444444
+        fi
+        body="{\"head\":{\"sha\":\"$head_sha\"}}"
+        code=200
+        if [[ "${MOSAIC_TEST_FALLBACK_MODE:-none}" == "inspection" && "$auth_mode" == "token" ]]; then
+            body='{"message":"token rejected"}'
+            code=401
+        fi
+        ;;
+    */pulls/42/commits*)
+        case "${MOSAIC_TEST_COMMITS_MODE:?}" in
+            verified)
+                if [[ "${MOSAIC_TEST_EMAIL_MODE:-safe}" == "escape" ]]; then
+                    body='[{"sha":"2222222222222222222222222222222222222222","commit":{"author":{"name":"Alice","email":"alice+\u001b[[email protected]"}},"author":{"login":"alice"}},{"sha":"1111111111111111111111111111111111111111","commit":{"author":{"name":"Poster","email":"[email protected]"}},"author":{"login":"poster"}}]'
+                else
+                    body='[{"sha":"2222222222222222222222222222222222222222","commit":{"author":{"name":"Alice","email":"[email protected]"}},"author":{"login":"alice"}},{"sha":"1111111111111111111111111111111111111111","commit":{"author":{"name":"Poster","email":"[email protected]"}},"author":{"login":"poster"}}]'
+                fi
+                ;;
+            null-login)
+                body='[{"sha":"1111111111111111111111111111111111111111","commit":{"author":{"name":"Poster","email":"[email protected]"}},"author":{"login":"poster"}},{"sha":"3333333333333333333333333333333333333333","commit":{"author":{"name":"Unresolved Author","email":"[email protected]\n\u001b[31m"}},"author":null}]'
+                ;;
+            unsafe-identity)
+                body='[{"sha":"unsafe\n\u001b[31m","commit":{"author":{"name":"Unsafe","email":"not-an-email"}},"author":{"login":"unsafe"}},{"sha":"3333333333333333333333333333333333333333","commit":{"author":{"name":"Poster","email":"[email protected]"}},"author":{"login":"poster"}}]'
+                ;;
+            single)
+                body='[{"sha":"1111111111111111111111111111111111111111","commit":{"author":{"name":"Poster","email":"[email protected]"}},"author":{"login":"poster"}}]'
+                ;;
+            *)
+                echo "unknown commits mode" >&2
+                exit 2
+                ;;
+        esac
+        code=200
+        if [[ "${MOSAIC_TEST_FALLBACK_MODE:-none}" == "inspection" && "$auth_mode" == "token" ]]; then
+            body='{"message":"token rejected"}'
+            code=401
+        fi
+        ;;
+    */pulls/42/merge)
+        body='{}'
+        code=200
+        if [[ "${MOSAIC_TEST_FALLBACK_MODE:-none}" == "merge" && "$auth_mode" == "token" ]]; then
+            body='{"message":"token rejected"}'
+            code=401
+        elif [[ "${MOSAIC_TEST_FALLBACK_MODE:-none}" == "provider-error" ]]; then
+            body='{"message":"branch policy rejected\n\u001b[31m"}'
+            code=409
+        elif [[ "${MOSAIC_TEST_FALLBACK_MODE:-none}" == "forbidden" ]]; then
+            body='{"message":"permission denied"}'
+            code=403
+        else
+            printf '%s' "$data" > "${MOSAIC_TEST_MERGE_PAYLOAD:?}"
+        fi
+        ;;
+    */users/*)
+        body='{"message":"not found"}'
+        code=404
+        ;;
+    *)
+        body='{"message":"unexpected URL"}'
+        code=500
+        ;;
+esac
+
+if [[ -n "$out_file" ]]; then
+    printf '%s' "$body" > "$out_file"
+else
+    printf '%s' "$body"
+fi
+printf '%s' "$code"
+case "${MOSAIC_TEST_CURL_FAILURE:-none}" in
+    oversize) exit 63 ;;
+    stalled) exit 28 ;;
+esac
+SH
+
+    chmod +x "$case_dir/detect-platform.sh" "$case_dir/pr-metadata.sh" \
+        "$case_dir/ci-queue-wait.sh" "$case_dir/bin/curl" "$case_dir/bin/python3"
+    printf '%s\n' "$case_dir"
+}
+
+run_case() {
+    local case_dir="$1" mode="$2"
+    shift 2
+    MOSAIC_TEST_COMMITS_MODE="$mode" \
+    MOSAIC_TEST_CURL_LOG="$case_dir/curl.log" \
+    MOSAIC_TEST_CURL_BOUNDS_LOG="$case_dir/curl-bounds.log" \
+    MOSAIC_TEST_MERGE_PAYLOAD="$case_dir/merge-payload.json" \
+    MOSAIC_TEST_TOKEN_ARGV_MARKER="$case_dir/token-in-argv" \
+    MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_ARGV_MARKER="$case_dir/basic-in-argv" \
+    MOSAIC_TEST_AUTH_CONFIG_MARKER="$case_dir/auth-via-config" \
+    MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_CONFIG_MARKER="$case_dir/basic-via-config" \
+    MOSAIC_TEST_TOKEN_RESOLUTION_LOG="$case_dir/token-resolution.log" \
+    MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_RESOLUTION_LOG="$case_dir/basic-resolution.log" \
+    MOSAIC_TEST_METADATA_ARGV_MARKER="$case_dir/metadata-in-argv" \
+    MOSAIC_TEST_REAL_PYTHON="$(command -v python3)" \
+    AGENT_WORK_ROOT="$case_dir/agent" \
+    PATH="$case_dir/bin:$ORIG_PATH" \
+        "$case_dir/pr-merge.sh" -n 42 "$@"
+}
+
+# Verified multi-author path: the non-poster trailer is built from one commit's
+# linked author.login and that same commit's author email. No /users lookup.
+verified_dir=$(make_case verified)
+set +e
+verified_output=$(run_case "$verified_dir" verified --co-author-trailers --escalate-to tl-mosaic 2>&1)
+verified_rc=$?
+set -e
+if [[ "$verified_rc" -ne 0 ]]; then
+    fail "verified multi-author merge expected rc=0, got rc=$verified_rc: $verified_output"
+elif [[ ! -s "$verified_dir/merge-payload.json" ]]; then
+    fail "verified multi-author merge did not reach the API payload"
+else
+    python3 - "$verified_dir/merge-payload.json" <<'PY' || fail "verified payload did not preserve squash and exact message fields"
+import json
+import sys
+payload = json.load(open(sys.argv[1], encoding="utf-8"))
+assert payload == {
+    "Do": "squash",
+    "head_commit_id": "2222222222222222222222222222222222222222",
+    "MergeTitleField": "Preserve both branch authors",
+    "MergeMessageField": "Co-authored-by: alice <[email protected]>",
+}, payload
+PY
+fi
+[[ -e "$verified_dir/auth-via-config" ]] || fail "verified path did not authenticate curl through stdin config"
+[[ ! -e "$verified_dir/token-in-argv" ]] || fail "verified path placed the Gitea token in curl argv"
+[[ ! -e "$verified_dir/metadata-in-argv" ]] || fail "verified path placed PR title or contributor email in child argv"
+[[ "$(wc -l < "$verified_dir/token-resolution.log")" -eq 1 ]] || fail "verified path did not bind inspection and merge to one credential resolution"
+if grep -q '/users/' "$verified_dir/curl.log" 2>/dev/null; then
+    fail "verified path performed a forbidden second /users lookup"
+fi
+if grep -qv '^1:1:1$' "$verified_dir/curl-bounds.log"; then
+    fail "verified path did not apply size/max-time/connect-time bounds to every provider download"
+fi
+
+# A linked email containing a terminal escape must block before mutation.
+escape_email_dir=$(make_case escape-email)
+set +e
+escape_email_output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_EMAIL_MODE=escape run_case "$escape_email_dir" verified --co-author-trailers --escalate-to tl-mosaic 2>&1)
+escape_email_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$escape_email_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "control-byte email unexpectedly passed"
+[[ "$escape_email_output" == *"unusable linked identity"* ]] || fail "control-byte email refusal lost its diagnostic"
+[[ ! -e "$escape_email_dir/merge-payload.json" ]] || fail "control-byte email reached the merge API"
+
+# Curl transfer and duration failures must remain failures even with HTTP 200.
+for failure_mode in oversize stalled; do
+    failure_dir=$(make_case "curl-$failure_mode")
+    set +e
+    failure_output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_CURL_FAILURE="$failure_mode" run_case "$failure_dir" verified --co-author-trailers --escalate-to tl-mosaic 2>&1)
+    failure_rc=$?
+    set -e
+    [[ "$failure_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "curl $failure_mode failure was discarded: $failure_output"
+    [[ ! -e "$failure_dir/merge-payload.json" ]] || fail "curl $failure_mode failure reached the merge API"
+done
+
+# The authenticated head is re-read under the mutation credential but cannot
+# replace the canonical preflight/review head. A move blocks before enumeration
+# or mutation even though the provider returned a valid new SHA.
+moved_dir=$(make_case moved-head)
+set +e
+moved_output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_HEAD_MODE=moved \
+    run_case "$moved_dir" verified --co-author-trailers --escalate-to tl-mosaic 2>&1)
+moved_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$moved_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "moved authenticated head unexpectedly passed"
+[[ "$moved_output" == *"authenticated PR head moved from reviewed"* ]] || fail "moved head refusal lost its diagnostic"
+[[ "$moved_output" == *"tl-mosaic"* ]] || fail "moved head refusal omitted the named escalation principal"
+[[ ! -e "$moved_dir/merge-payload.json" ]] || fail "moved head refusal reached the merge API"
+moved_sequence=$(awk '{print $1 ":" $2}' "$moved_dir/curl.log" | paste -sd, -)
+[[ "$moved_sequence" == "GET:token" ]] || fail "moved head refusal performed post-move inspection/mutation (calls=$moved_sequence)"
+
+# Token resolution failure is not an authentication response. It must fail
+# closed instead of borrowing a Basic credential under a different principal.
+token_missing_dir=$(make_case token-missing)
+set +e
+token_missing_output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_TOKEN_AVAILABLE=false MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_AVAILABLE=true \
+    run_case "$token_missing_dir" single 2>&1)
+token_missing_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$token_missing_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "missing token unexpectedly borrowed Basic Auth"
+[[ "$token_missing_output" == *"required Gitea token"* ]] || fail "missing token refusal lost its diagnostic"
+[[ ! -e "$token_missing_dir/basic-resolution.log" ]] || fail "missing token resolved Basic Auth after identity failure"
+[[ ! -e "$token_missing_dir/curl.log" ]] || fail "missing token reached a provider request"
+
+# A failed Basic resolver must never use its nonempty output or reach mutation.
+basic_rc_dir=$(make_case basic-resolver-rc)
+set +e
+basic_rc_output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_AVAILABLE=true MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_RC=91 MOSAIC_TEST_FALLBACK_MODE=inspection \
+    run_case "$basic_rc_dir" verified --co-author-trailers --escalate-to tl-mosaic 2>&1)
+basic_rc_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$basic_rc_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "failed Basic resolver output unexpectedly authorized a merge: $basic_rc_output"
+[[ ! -e "$basic_rc_dir/merge-payload.json" ]] || fail "failed Basic resolver reached the merge API"
+
+# HTTP 401 never changes principals: inspection rejection fails closed without
+# resolving or attempting Basic Auth.
+fallback_inspect_dir=$(make_case fallback-inspection)
+set +e
+fallback_inspect_output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_AVAILABLE=true MOSAIC_TEST_FALLBACK_MODE=inspection \
+    run_case "$fallback_inspect_dir" verified --co-author-trailers --escalate-to tl-mosaic 2>&1)
+fallback_inspect_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$fallback_inspect_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "inspection token rejection unexpectedly changed principals"
+[[ "$fallback_inspect_output" == *"refusing cross-principal credential fallback"* ]] || fail "inspection token rejection lost its refusal diagnostic"
+[[ ! -e "$fallback_inspect_dir/basic-resolution.log" ]] || fail "inspection token rejection resolved Basic Auth"
+[[ ! -e "$fallback_inspect_dir/merge-payload.json" ]] || fail "inspection token rejection reached merge mutation"
+inspect_sequence=$(awk '{print $1 ":" $2}' "$fallback_inspect_dir/curl.log" | paste -sd, -)
+[[ "$inspect_sequence" == "GET:token" ]] || fail "inspection rejection made unexpected provider calls (calls=$inspect_sequence)"
+
+# Token rejection at merge likewise fails closed without cross-principal retry.
+fallback_merge_dir=$(make_case fallback-merge)
+set +e
+fallback_merge_output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_AVAILABLE=true MOSAIC_TEST_FALLBACK_MODE=merge \
+    run_case "$fallback_merge_dir" verified --co-author-trailers --escalate-to tl-mosaic 2>&1)
+fallback_merge_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$fallback_merge_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "merge token rejection unexpectedly changed principals"
+[[ "$fallback_merge_output" == *"refusing cross-principal credential fallback"* ]] || fail "merge token rejection lost its refusal diagnostic"
+[[ ! -e "$fallback_merge_dir/basic-resolution.log" ]] || fail "merge token rejection resolved Basic Auth"
+[[ ! -e "$fallback_merge_dir/merge-payload.json" ]] || fail "merge token rejection recorded a successful payload"
+merge_sequence=$(awk '{print $1 ":" $2}' "$fallback_merge_dir/curl.log" | paste -sd, -)
+[[ "$merge_sequence" == "GET:token,GET:token,POST:token" ]] || fail "merge rejection made unexpected provider calls (calls=$merge_sequence)"
+
+# BLOCK path: a commit email exists but author.login is null. It must name both
+# facts, name the escalation principal, and never reach the merge endpoint.
+null_dir=$(make_case null-login)
+set +e
+null_output=$(run_case "$null_dir" null-login --co-author-trailers --escalate-to tl-mosaic 2>&1)
+null_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$null_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "null-login author expected a non-zero BLOCK"
+[[ "$null_output" == *"BLOCK"* ]] || fail "null-login author omitted BLOCK diagnostic"
+[[ "$null_output" == *"author.login=NULL"* ]] || fail "null-login author omitted the null provider fact"
+[[ "$null_output" == *"[email protected]"* ]] || fail "null-login author omitted the commit email fact"
+[[ "$null_output" == *'\n\x1b[31m'* ]] || fail "null-login author diagnostic did not escape control characters"
+[[ "$null_output" != *$'\033'* ]] || fail "null-login author diagnostic emitted a raw terminal escape"
+[[ "$(printf '%s\n' "$null_output" | wc -l)" -eq 1 ]] || fail "null-login author diagnostic permitted newline injection"
+[[ "$null_output" == *"tl-mosaic"* ]] || fail "null-login author omitted the named escalation principal"
+[[ ! -e "$null_dir/merge-payload.json" ]] || fail "null-login BLOCK still reached the merge API"
+
+# Every provider-derived field in alternate BLOCK diagnostics is log-safe too,
+# including an invalid non-head SHA that contains control characters.
+unsafe_dir=$(make_case unsafe-identity)
+set +e
+unsafe_output=$(run_case "$unsafe_dir" unsafe-identity --co-author-trailers --escalate-to tl-mosaic 2>&1)
+unsafe_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$unsafe_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "unsafe identity expected a non-zero BLOCK"
+[[ "$unsafe_output" == *"unusable linked identity"* ]] || fail "unsafe identity omitted its BLOCK reason"
+[[ "$unsafe_output" == *'\n\x1b[31m'* ]] || fail "unsafe identity SHA did not escape control characters"
+[[ "$unsafe_output" != *$'\033'* ]] || fail "unsafe identity diagnostic emitted a raw terminal escape"
+[[ "$(printf '%s\n' "$unsafe_output" | wc -l)" -eq 1 ]] || fail "unsafe identity diagnostic permitted newline injection"
+[[ ! -e "$unsafe_dir/merge-payload.json" ]] || fail "unsafe identity BLOCK still reached the merge API"
+
+# The provider PR title cannot add an unchecked trailer outside the constructed
+# message field: multi-line and trailer-shaped titles block before mutation.
+title_dir=$(make_case title-injection)
+set +e
+title_output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_TITLE_MODE=injection \
+    run_case "$title_dir" verified --co-author-trailers --escalate-to tl-mosaic 2>&1)
+title_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$title_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "title trailer injection unexpectedly passed"
+[[ "$title_output" == *"not one printable, non-trailer line"* ]] || fail "title injection refusal lost its diagnostic"
+[[ ! -e "$title_dir/merge-payload.json" ]] || fail "title injection reached the merge API"
+
+# Provider failures remain diagnosable after their temporary response file is
+# removed, but provider-controlled control characters stay log-safe.
+error_dir=$(make_case provider-error)
+set +e
+error_output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_AVAILABLE=true MOSAIC_TEST_FALLBACK_MODE=provider-error \
+    run_case "$error_dir" single 2>&1)
+error_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$error_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "provider error unexpectedly passed"
+[[ "$error_output" == *"HTTP 409"* ]] || fail "provider error omitted the HTTP status"
+[[ "$error_output" == *"branch policy rejected"* ]] || fail "provider error response was discarded"
+[[ "$error_output" == *'\n\x1b[31m'* ]] || fail "provider error response did not escape control characters"
+[[ "$error_output" != *$'\033'* ]] || fail "provider error response emitted a raw terminal escape"
+[[ "$error_output" != *"Basic Auth fallback"* ]] || fail "provider error advertised removed Basic Auth fallback"
+[[ ! -e "$error_dir/basic-resolution.log" ]] || fail "HTTP 409 policy denial incorrectly triggered Basic Auth fallback"
+
+# Authorization denials likewise fail closed instead of changing principals.
+forbidden_dir=$(make_case forbidden)
+set +e
+forbidden_output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_BASIC_AVAILABLE=true MOSAIC_TEST_FALLBACK_MODE=forbidden \
+    run_case "$forbidden_dir" single 2>&1)
+forbidden_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$forbidden_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "HTTP 403 authorization denial unexpectedly passed"
+[[ "$forbidden_output" == *"HTTP 403"* ]] || fail "authorization denial omitted the HTTP status"
+[[ "$forbidden_output" != *"Basic Auth fallback"* ]] || fail "authorization denial advertised removed Basic Auth fallback"
+[[ ! -e "$forbidden_dir/basic-resolution.log" ]] || fail "HTTP 403 authorization denial incorrectly triggered Basic Auth fallback"
+
+# The BLOCK destination cannot be generic or inferred after failure: opting in
+# without a named principal is refused before any provider operation.
+principal_dir=$(make_case missing-principal)
+set +e
+principal_output=$(run_case "$principal_dir" verified --co-author-trailers 2>&1)
+principal_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$principal_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "co-author mode without a named principal unexpectedly passed"
+[[ "$principal_output" == *"requires --escalate-to with a named principal"* ]] || fail "missing-principal refusal lost its diagnostic"
+[[ ! -e "$principal_dir/merge-payload.json" ]] || fail "missing-principal refusal reached the merge API"
+
+# A trailing value-taking option receives a stable CLI diagnostic instead of a
+# set -u unbound-variable crash.
+value_dir=$(make_case missing-principal-value)
+set +e
+value_output=$(run_case "$value_dir" verified --co-author-trailers --escalate-to 2>&1)
+value_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$value_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "missing --escalate-to value unexpectedly passed"
+[[ "$value_output" == *"--escalate-to requires one principal name"* ]] || fail "missing --escalate-to value lost its diagnostic"
+[[ "$value_output" != *"unbound variable"* ]] || fail "missing --escalate-to value crashed under set -u"
+[[ ! -e "$value_dir/merge-payload.json" ]] || fail "missing --escalate-to value reached the merge API"
+
+# Negative control: ordinary single-author merge remains byte-for-byte payload
+# compatible and hardcoded to squash, with no optional message fields.
+single_dir=$(make_case single)
+set +e
+single_output=$(run_case "$single_dir" single 2>&1)
+single_rc=$?
+set -e
+if [[ "$single_rc" -ne 0 ]]; then
+    fail "ordinary single-author merge expected rc=0, got rc=$single_rc: $single_output"
+elif [[ ! -s "$single_dir/merge-payload.json" ]]; then
+    fail "ordinary single-author merge did not reach the API payload"
+else
+    python3 - "$single_dir/merge-payload.json" <<'PY' || fail "ordinary single-author payload changed"
+import json
+import sys
+payload = json.load(open(sys.argv[1], encoding="utf-8"))
+assert payload == {
+    "Do": "squash",
+    "head_commit_id": "1111111111111111111111111111111111111111",
+}, payload
+PY
+fi
+[[ -e "$single_dir/auth-via-config" ]] || fail "ordinary path did not authenticate curl through stdin config"
+[[ ! -e "$single_dir/token-in-argv" ]] || fail "ordinary path placed the Gitea token in curl argv"
+[[ "$(wc -l < "$single_dir/token-resolution.log")" -eq 1 ]] || fail "ordinary path did not use exactly one credential resolution"
+
+# Squash is not defaultable: an explicit non-squash method must remain refused.
+method_dir=$(make_case method-refusal)
+set +e
+method_output=$(run_case "$method_dir" single -m merge 2>&1)
+method_rc=$?
+set -e
+[[ "$method_rc" -ne 0 ]] || fail "non-squash method unexpectedly passed"
+[[ "$method_output" == *"enforces squash merge only"* ]] || fail "non-squash refusal lost its policy diagnostic"
+[[ ! -e "$method_dir/merge-payload.json" ]] || fail "non-squash refusal reached the merge API"
+
+if [[ "$failures" -ne 0 ]]; then
+    echo "pr-merge message-field regression failed ($failures assertions)" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "pr-merge message-field regression passed (verified, BLOCK, and unchanged squash control)"

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/lease-broker/launch-runtime.py

@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@ import json
 import os
 import socket
 import sys
+import time
 from collections.abc import Callable, Mapping, Sequence
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Final
 
@@ -53,6 +55,48 @@ def broker_request(socket_path: Path, request: dict[str, object]) -> dict[str, o
     return value
 
 
+def _self_starttime() -> str | None:
+    """Field 22 of our own /proc stat — the anchor starttime the broker records.
+
+    Read past the comm field's parens, since a process name may contain them.
+    """
+    try:
+        raw = Path(f"/proc/{os.getpid()}/stat").read_text()
+        return raw.rsplit(")", 1)[1].split()[19]
+    except (OSError, IndexError, ValueError):
+        return None
+
+
+def _append_launch_record(environ: Mapping[str, str], record: dict[str, object]) -> None:
+    """Append one NDJSON event to the #797 Runtime Session Ledger.
+
+    `fleet/run/sessions/` is operator-classified in framework-manifest.txt and is
+    already covered by test-upgrade-manifest-guard.sh, so an upgrade can neither
+    overwrite nor prune it. Files 0600 under a 0700 dir, matching what that guard
+    asserts.
+
+    Never raises: a launch must not be denied over bookkeeping. But it also never
+    fails silently — a missing record is exactly the kind of gap that made the
+    2026-08-06 MUTATOR_UNVERIFIED investigation cost a day.
+    """
+    try:
+        mosaic_home = environ.get("MOSAIC_HOME") or str(Path.home() / ".config" / "mosaic")
+        directory = Path(mosaic_home) / "fleet" / "run" / "sessions"
+        directory.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        os.chmod(directory, 0o700)
+        framed = {
+            "seq": time.time_ns() // 1_000_000,
+            "ts": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
+            **record,
+        }
+        path = directory / "events.ndjson"
+        descriptor = os.open(path, os.O_WRONLY | os.O_CREAT | os.O_APPEND, 0o600)
+        with os.fdopen(descriptor, "w") as handle:
+            handle.write(json.dumps(framed, separators=(",", ":")) + "\n")
+    except (OSError, ValueError, TypeError) as error:
+        print(f"[mosaic] WARNING: launch record not written: {error}", file=sys.stderr)
+
+
 def main(
     argv: Sequence[str] | None = None,
     *,
@@ -94,8 +138,9 @@ def main(
     # silent pass and never folded into the generic registration-failure
     # branch.
     try:
+        activation_capability = probe_activation_capability(source_environment)
         assert_activation_capability_matches(
-            probe_activation_capability(source_environment),
+            activation_capability,
             expected_activation_capability,
         )
     except VersionCouplingError as version_error:
@@ -128,6 +173,32 @@ def main(
         print("Mosaic lease broker registration failed; runtime launch denied.", file=sys.stderr)
         return 1
 
+    # Immutable launch record, half two. `mosaic` wrote `session.launch` with the
+    # config/provenance it knows; only this process knows the broker session id
+    # and the activation capability it just asserted. os.execvpe preserves the
+    # PID, so this PID is BOTH the anchor pid and the join key back to that
+    # record. Never fatal — bookkeeping must not deny a launch — but never
+    # silent either.
+    _append_launch_record(
+        source_environment,
+        {
+            "kind": "lease.register",
+            # Joins back to `mosaic`'s session.launch record. NOT pid: execRuntime()
+            # spawns rather than execs, so this process is a CHILD of mosaic with a
+            # different pid. This pid IS the broker anchor pid (os.execvpe below
+            # preserves it), which is a separate and still-useful fact.
+            "launch_id": source_environment.get("MOSAIC_LAUNCH_ID"),
+            "pid": os.getpid(),
+            "runtime": arguments.runtime,
+            "session_id": session_id,
+            "runtime_generation": generation,
+            "generation_file": str(generation_file),
+            "anchor_starttime": _self_starttime(),
+            "activation_capability": activation_capability,
+            "command": Path(command[0]).name,
+        },
+    )
+
     environment = dict(source_environment)
     environment["MOSAIC_LEASE_SESSION_ID"] = session_id
     environment["MOSAIC_RUNTIME_GENERATION"] = str(generation)

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/lease-broker/lease_promote.py

@@ -0,0 +1,269 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Lease promotion client — the half the enforcement toolkit never shipped.
+
+The enforcement half (``daemon.py`` + ``mutator-gate.py``) ships and denies. The
+promotion half has no production caller anywhere in the package: as of 0.0.48,
+0.0.49 and 0.0.50-next.2207, ``begin_verification`` / ``observe_receipt`` /
+``promote_lease`` are invoked only by ``broker-test-client.ts``, the acceptance
+spec, unit tests, and two probes under ``docs/``. Consequence: **no lease on any
+host can reach VERIFIED**, so every mutator is denied ``MUTATOR_UNVERIFIED`` by a
+gate nothing can satisfy.
+
+THE PROTOCOL (``daemon.py:578-754``)
+------------------------------------
+  1. ``begin_verification`` — broker revokes, mints a challenge, and returns the
+     exact ``receipt`` text the MODEL must emit
+  2. *the model emits that text verbatim as its ENTIRE latest message*
+  3. the runtime adapter ships that message to the daemon-owned observer socket
+  4. ``observe_receipt``  -> ``PENDING_PROMOTION``
+  5. ``promote_lease``    -> ``VERIFIED``
+
+THIS MODULE IMPLEMENTS 1, 4 AND 5 — NEVER 2
+-------------------------------------------
+Step 2 is the security property, not a formality. ``is_verbatim_receipt`` uses
+``hmac.compare_digest`` against the exact minted string — explicitly "not a
+transcript substring" (``receipt_challenge.py``). Promotion therefore requires a
+live model that received the challenge in its context and echoed it exactly.
+
+``receipt-observer-client.py`` will post ANY string as the latest assistant
+message. A promotion client that posted its own receipt would satisfy the broker
+while proving nothing — a gate-disabler indistinguishable from a working fix
+unless someone looks for it. **This module never posts a receipt.** Emitting it
+belongs to the runtime adapter, where a real model turn happens.
+
+The construction binds the exact normative source bytes, so a VERIFIED lease
+means "this agent is running THIS law", not merely "this session id is known".
+``h_source`` / ``h_payload`` are derived by the framework's own
+``normative_fragments.build_payload`` rather than reimplemented: the broker
+derives them the same way and any divergence yields ``PAYLOAD_BINDING_MISMATCH``.
+There must be exactly one implementation.
+
+Usage
+-----
+    lease_promote.py --begin                 # prints the receipt the MODEL must emit
+    lease_promote.py --complete <challenge>  # after the adapter observed it
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import base64
+import json
+import os
+import socket
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Final
+
+# Isolated (`python -I`) adapter invocations must still import co-located
+# framework modules; never depend on the caller's PYTHONPATH.
+_MODULE_DIRECTORY = str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent)
+if _MODULE_DIRECTORY not in sys.path:
+    sys.path.insert(0, _MODULE_DIRECTORY)
+
+from normative_fragments import NormativeFragment, build_payload  # noqa: E402
+
+MAX_FRAME: Final = 64 * 1024
+BROKER_TIMEOUT_SECONDS: Final = 3.0
+SCHEMA_VERSION: Final = 1
+MANIFEST_VERSION: Final = 1
+GENERATOR_VERSION: Final = "mosaic/lease_promote@1"
+DEFAULT_TTL_SECONDS: Final = 300
+
+# Normative sources whose exact bytes bind the lease. Sources absent on a given
+# deployment are simply not part of the binding — never fabricated.
+FRAGMENT_SOURCES: Final = (
+    "CONSTITUTION.md",
+    "AGENTS.md",
+    "SOUL.md",
+    "USER.md",
+    "STANDARDS.md",
+    "TOOLS.md",
+)
+
+
+def mosaic_home() -> Path:
+    return Path(os.environ.get("MOSAIC_HOME") or Path.home() / ".config" / "mosaic")
+
+
+def broker_socket() -> Path:
+    value = os.environ.get("MOSAIC_LEASE_BROKER_SOCKET")
+    if value:
+        return Path(value)
+    runtime_dir = os.environ.get("XDG_RUNTIME_DIR")
+    if runtime_dir:
+        return Path(runtime_dir) / "mosaic-lease" / "broker.sock"
+    return Path(f"/run/user/{os.getuid()}/mosaic-lease/broker.sock")
+
+
+def session_identity() -> tuple[str, int, str]:
+    """Session id, CURRENT generation, runtime.
+
+    The generation file wins over the env var, matching ``lease_generation.py``.
+    Sending a generation HIGHER than the broker's would revoke this session's own
+    authority (``daemon.py:342-344``), so this never guesses.
+    """
+    session_id = os.environ["MOSAIC_LEASE_SESSION_ID"]
+    runtime = os.environ["MOSAIC_LEASE_RUNTIME"]
+    state_file = os.environ.get("MOSAIC_LEASE_GENERATION_FILE")
+    if state_file:
+        try:
+            return session_id, int(Path(state_file).read_text().strip()), runtime
+        except (OSError, ValueError):
+            pass
+    return session_id, int(os.environ["MOSAIC_RUNTIME_GENERATION"]), runtime
+
+
+def build_construction(runtime: str) -> tuple[dict[str, object], object]:
+    """Assemble the wire construction and derive its hashes with the sole builder."""
+    sources = list(FRAGMENT_SOURCES) + [f"runtime/{runtime}/RUNTIME.md"]
+    wire_fragments: list[dict[str, str]] = []
+    objects: list[NormativeFragment] = []
+
+    for source_id in sources:
+        try:
+            content = (mosaic_home() / source_id).read_bytes()
+        except OSError:
+            continue
+        import hashlib
+
+        digest = hashlib.sha256(content).hexdigest()
+        wire_fragments.append(
+            {
+                "source_id": source_id,
+                "content_base64": base64.b64encode(content).decode("ascii"),
+                "expected_sha256": digest,
+            }
+        )
+        objects.append(NormativeFragment(source_id, content, digest))
+
+    if not wire_fragments:
+        raise RuntimeError("no normative sources found — refusing to build an empty binding")
+
+    result = build_payload(
+        manifest_version=MANIFEST_VERSION,
+        generator_version=GENERATOR_VERSION,
+        fragments=objects,
+    )
+    if result.injectionDecision != "ACCEPTED" or not result.promotion:
+        raise RuntimeError(f"construction refused locally: {result.source_reason}")
+
+    return (
+        {
+            "manifest_version": MANIFEST_VERSION,
+            "generator_version": GENERATOR_VERSION,
+            "fragments": wire_fragments,
+        },
+        result,
+    )
+
+
+def broker_request(payload: dict[str, object]) -> dict[str, object]:
+    raw = (json.dumps(payload, separators=(",", ":")) + "\n").encode()
+    if len(raw) > MAX_FRAME:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"request too large ({len(raw)} bytes); broker frame cap is {MAX_FRAME}"
+        )
+    response = bytearray()
+    with socket.socket(socket.AF_UNIX, socket.SOCK_STREAM) as connection:
+        connection.settimeout(BROKER_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+        connection.connect(str(broker_socket()))
+        connection.sendall(raw)
+        connection.shutdown(socket.SHUT_WR)
+        while len(response) <= MAX_FRAME:
+            chunk = connection.recv(4096)
+            if not chunk:
+                break
+            response.extend(chunk)
+    if len(response) > MAX_FRAME or not response.endswith(b"\n"):
+        raise ValueError("invalid broker reply")
+    value = json.loads(response)
+    if not isinstance(value, dict):
+        raise ValueError("invalid broker reply")
+    return value
+
+
+def begin(
+    ttl_seconds: int = DEFAULT_TTL_SECONDS,
+    compaction_epoch: int = 0,
+    request_epoch: int = 0,
+) -> dict[str, object]:
+    """Step 1. Returns the broker reply, including the exact ``receipt`` text."""
+    session_id, generation, runtime = session_identity()
+    construction, derived = build_construction(runtime)
+    return broker_request(
+        {
+            "action": "begin_verification",
+            "session_id": session_id,
+            "runtime_generation": generation,
+            "runtime": runtime,
+            "ttl_seconds": ttl_seconds,
+            "binding": {
+                "compaction_epoch": compaction_epoch,
+                "request_epoch": request_epoch,
+                "h_source": derived.h_source,
+                "h_payload": derived.h_payload,
+                "schema_version": SCHEMA_VERSION,
+            },
+            "construction": construction,
+        }
+    )
+
+
+def complete(challenge: str) -> dict[str, object]:
+    """Steps 4-5. Assumes the model already emitted the receipt and the adapter
+    shipped it to the observer socket."""
+    session_id, generation, _ = session_identity()
+    observed = broker_request(
+        {
+            "action": "observe_receipt",
+            "session_id": session_id,
+            "runtime_generation": generation,
+            "receipt_challenge": challenge,
+        }
+    )
+    if observed.get("ok") is not True or observed.get("state") != "PENDING_PROMOTION":
+        return {"stage": "observe_receipt", **observed}
+    promoted = broker_request(
+        {
+            "action": "promote_lease",
+            "session_id": session_id,
+            "runtime_generation": generation,
+            "receipt_challenge": challenge,
+        }
+    )
+    return {"stage": "promote_lease", **promoted}
+
+
+def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Mosaic lease promotion client.")
+    group = parser.add_mutually_exclusive_group(required=True)
+    group.add_argument(
+        "--begin",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="mint a challenge; prints the receipt the MODEL must emit verbatim",
+    )
+    group.add_argument(
+        "--complete",
+        metavar="CHALLENGE",
+        help="observe the emitted receipt and promote the lease",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument("--ttl-seconds", type=int, default=DEFAULT_TTL_SECONDS)
+    arguments = parser.parse_args(argv)
+
+    try:
+        if arguments.begin:
+            print(json.dumps(begin(ttl_seconds=arguments.ttl_seconds), indent=2))
+        else:
+            print(json.dumps(complete(arguments.complete), indent=2))
+    except KeyError as exc:
+        print(f"missing lease environment: {exc}; not a lease-gated session", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 2
+    except (OSError, ValueError, RuntimeError, json.JSONDecodeError) as exc:
+        print(f"{type(exc).__name__}: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 2
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())

packages/mosaic/package.json

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
     "lint": "eslint src",
     "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
     "test": "vitest run --passWithNoTests && pnpm run test:framework-shell",
-    "test:framework-shell": "bash framework/tools/quality/scripts/check-test-enumeration.sh && bash framework/tools/quality/scripts/test-check-test-enumeration.sh && python3 src/lease-broker/daemon_deadline_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/normative_fragments_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/receipt_challenge_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/context_recovery_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/recovery_runtime_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/recovery_b1_adversarial_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/framework_skill_portability_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/runtime_tools_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/runtime_launch_guard_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/version_coupling_unittest.py && python3 framework/tools/lease-broker/check-runtime-launches.py --root ../.. && bash framework/tools/codex/test-pr-diff-context.sh && bash framework/tools/qa/test-deps-preflight.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-review-gitea-comment.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-review-repo-host-override.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-branch-absent.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-tristate.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-github-checks.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-queue-branch.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-head-pin.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-git-credential-mosaic.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-gitea-token-identity.sh && bash framework/tools/woodpecker/test-terminal-green-contract.sh && bash framework/tools/_scripts/test-install-ordering-guard.sh && bash framework/tools/tmux/agent-send.test.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-store-ack.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-store-enqueue-race.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-digest-hmac.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-digest-quarantine.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-detector.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-fn-oracle.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-reconcile.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-beacon.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-preimage.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-install.sh"
+    "test:framework-shell": "bash framework/tools/quality/scripts/check-test-enumeration.sh && bash framework/tools/quality/scripts/test-check-test-enumeration.sh && python3 src/lease-broker/daemon_deadline_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/normative_fragments_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/receipt_challenge_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/context_recovery_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/recovery_runtime_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/recovery_b1_adversarial_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/framework_skill_portability_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/runtime_tools_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/runtime_launch_guard_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/version_coupling_unittest.py && python3 framework/tools/lease-broker/check-runtime-launches.py --root ../.. && bash framework/tools/codex/test-pr-diff-context.sh && bash framework/tools/qa/test-deps-preflight.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-review-gitea-comment.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-review-repo-host-override.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-branch-absent.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-tristate.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-github-checks.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-queue-branch.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-head-pin.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-message-field.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-git-credential-mosaic.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-gitea-token-identity.sh && bash framework/tools/woodpecker/test-terminal-green-contract.sh && bash framework/tools/_scripts/test-install-ordering-guard.sh && bash framework/tools/tmux/agent-send.test.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-store-ack.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-store-enqueue-race.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-digest-hmac.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-digest-quarantine.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-detector.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-fn-oracle.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-reconcile.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-beacon.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-preimage.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-install.sh"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@mosaicstack/brain": "workspace:*",

packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch.ts

@@ -14,9 +14,11 @@ import {
   readdirSync,
   realpathSync,
   rmSync,
+  appendFileSync,
 } from 'node:fs';
+import { createHash, randomBytes } from 'node:crypto';
 import { createRequire } from 'node:module';
-import { homedir } from 'node:os';
+import { homedir, hostname } from 'node:os';
 import { join, dirname } from 'node:path';
 import type { Command } from 'commander';
 import {
@@ -42,6 +44,163 @@ const RUNTIME_LABELS: Record<RuntimeName, string> = {
   pi: 'Pi',
 };
 
+// ─── Harness home isolation ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Mosaic-launched runtimes read config from a dedicated home under the mosaic
+// tree — never the operator's base install. A bare `claude` / `pi` therefore
+// keeps its own config AND its own auth, and stays a working break-glass no
+// matter what mosaic does to its own tree.
+//
+// These paths are manifest-UNKNOWN, which resolves to operator ownership
+// (framework-manifest.txt rule 3, #791), so a keep-mode `mosaic update` can
+// neither overwrite nor prune them. Overwrite-mode install still would.
+//
+// opencode has no dedicated config-dir variable and follows XDG, so isolating it
+// sets XDG_CONFIG_HOME for that process tree. That is blunter than the other
+// three: it also relocates XDG lookups for anything opencode spawns.
+const HARNESS_HOME_ENV: Record<RuntimeName, string> = {
+  claude: 'CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR',
+  pi: 'PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR',
+  codex: 'CODEX_HOME',
+  opencode: 'XDG_CONFIG_HOME',
+};
+
+/** Dedicated mosaic-owned home for a runtime: ~/.config/mosaic/.<runtime> */
+function harnessHome(runtime: RuntimeName): string {
+  return join(MOSAIC_HOME, `.${runtime}`);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Env overlay pointing a runtime at its mosaic-owned home. The directory is
+ * created on demand so a first launch does not fail on a missing path.
+ */
+function harnessEnv(runtime: RuntimeName): Record<string, string> {
+  const key = HARNESS_HOME_ENV[runtime];
+  if (!key) return {};
+  const home = harnessHome(runtime);
+  mkdirSync(home, { recursive: true });
+  return { [key]: home };
+}
+
+// ─── Launch record (immutable provenance) ────────────────────────────────────
+// MANDATORY and MECHANICAL: every launch appends one record of what the agent
+// actually launched with, written before exec. No model involvement, no opt-out.
+//
+// WHY LAUNCH-TIME AND NOT INSPECT-LATER: pi rewrites its own argv to a bare
+// `pi`, so /proc/<pid>/cmdline DESTROYS the launch evidence. That has already
+// produced a confident wrong diagnosis ("this agent bypassed the launcher"),
+// disproved only by the parent process's argv and only because the parent had
+// not yet exited. A record written before exec is the only place this survives.
+//
+// Lands in fleet/run/sessions/ — the #797 Runtime Session Ledger path, already
+// operator-classified in framework-manifest.txt and already covered by
+// test-upgrade-manifest-guard.sh, so an upgrade can neither overwrite nor prune
+// it.
+//
+// CORRELATION is by an explicit MOSAIC_LAUNCH_ID, never by pid: execRuntime()
+// uses spawnSync, so the runtime is a CHILD with a different pid.
+// launch-runtime.py appends the matching `lease.register` event.
+//
+// NEVER records a credential value: env is captured as PRESENT NAMES ONLY, and
+// oversized argv values (the composed system prompt) become a digest + length.
+const LAUNCH_LEDGER_DIR = join(MOSAIC_HOME, 'fleet', 'run', 'sessions');
+
+const CLI_VERSION: string | null = (() => {
+  try {
+    // Resolved RELATIVELY: the package `exports` map does not expose
+    // package.json, so '@mosaicstack/mosaic/package.json' throws
+    // ERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED. Same relative depth from src/ and dist/.
+    return (createRequire(import.meta.url)('../../package.json') as { version: string }).version;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+})();
+
+interface NormativeFragmentDigest {
+  source_id: string;
+  sha256: string | null;
+  bytes: number | null;
+  missing?: boolean;
+}
+
+function sha256Of(value: string | Buffer): string {
+  return createHash('sha256').update(value).digest('hex');
+}
+
+/**
+ * Hash the normative sources injected into the agent. This is "what the agent
+ * IS" — and it is the same fragment set the lease broker hashes for promotion,
+ * so an unexpected digest here is a mechanically detectable red flag rather than
+ * a matter of judgement.
+ */
+function normativeFragmentDigests(runtime: RuntimeName): NormativeFragmentDigest[] {
+  const candidates: Array<[string, string]> = [
+    ['CONSTITUTION.md', join(MOSAIC_HOME, 'CONSTITUTION.md')],
+    ['AGENTS.md', join(MOSAIC_HOME, 'AGENTS.md')],
+    ['SOUL.md', join(MOSAIC_HOME, 'SOUL.md')],
+    ['USER.md', join(MOSAIC_HOME, 'USER.md')],
+    ['STANDARDS.md', join(MOSAIC_HOME, 'STANDARDS.md')],
+    ['TOOLS.md', join(MOSAIC_HOME, 'TOOLS.md')],
+    [`runtime/${runtime}/RUNTIME.md`, join(MOSAIC_HOME, 'runtime', runtime, 'RUNTIME.md')],
+  ];
+  return candidates.map(([sourceId, path]) => {
+    try {
+      const bytes = readFileSync(path);
+      return { source_id: sourceId, sha256: sha256Of(bytes), bytes: bytes.length };
+    } catch {
+      return { source_id: sourceId, sha256: null, bytes: null, missing: true };
+    }
+  });
+}
+
+/** argv with oversized values replaced by a digest, so the record stays small
+ * and never inlines injected content verbatim. */
+function redactArgv(argv: string[]): string[] {
+  return argv.map((a) =>
+    typeof a === 'string' && a.length > 256
+      ? `<redacted sha256:${sha256Of(a).slice(0, 16)} bytes:${a.length}>`
+      : a,
+  );
+}
+
+function recordLaunch(runtime: RuntimeName, cliArgs: string[], yolo: boolean): void {
+  try {
+    mkdirSync(LAUNCH_LEDGER_DIR, { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+    // Correlation id for the lease.register half. Set into process.env so it
+    // propagates through every `...process.env` / `...baseEnv` spread below.
+    const launchId = `${Date.now().toString(36)}-${randomBytes(6).toString('hex')}`;
+    process.env['MOSAIC_LAUNCH_ID'] = launchId;
+    const record = {
+      seq: Date.now(),
+      kind: 'session.launch',
+      launch_id: launchId,
+      ts: new Date().toISOString(),
+      host: hostname(),
+      pid: process.pid,
+      runtime,
+      mode: yolo ? 'yolo' : 'normal',
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
+      cli_version: CLI_VERSION,
+      config_home: harnessHome(runtime),
+      config_home_isolated: true,
+      config_home_env: HARNESS_HOME_ENV[runtime] ?? null,
+      argv: redactArgv(cliArgs),
+      normative_fragments: normativeFragmentDigests(runtime),
+      // names only — values are never recorded
+      mosaic_env_present: Object.keys(process.env)
+        .filter((k) => k.startsWith('MOSAIC_'))
+        .sort(),
+    };
+    appendFileSync(join(LAUNCH_LEDGER_DIR, 'events.ndjson'), `${JSON.stringify(record)}\n`, {
+      mode: 0o600,
+    });
+  } catch (err) {
+    // Never block a launch on bookkeeping — but never fail silently either.
+    console.error(
+      `[mosaic] WARNING: launch record not written: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`,
+    );
+  }
+}
+
 // ─── Pre-flight checks ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 function checkMosaicHome(): void {
@@ -105,11 +264,11 @@ interface SettingsAudit {
 
 function auditClaudeSettings(): SettingsAudit {
   const warnings: string[] = [];
-  const settingsPath = join(homedir(), '.claude', 'settings.json');
+  const settingsPath = join(harnessHome('claude'), 'settings.json');
   const settings = readJson(settingsPath);
 
   if (!settings) {
-    warnings.push('~/.claude/settings.json not found — hooks and plugins will be missing');
+    warnings.push(`${settingsPath} not found — hooks and plugins will be missing`);
     return { warnings };
   }
 
@@ -561,7 +720,9 @@ function skillRealPath(dir: string): string {
 /** Skill roots Pi auto-discovers natively (no `--skill` needed): its global
  * skills dir and the project-local one relative to the launch cwd. */
 function piNativeSkillRoots(cwd: string = process.cwd()): string[] {
-  return [join(homedir(), '.pi', 'agent', 'skills'), join(cwd, '.pi', 'skills')];
+  // PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR replaces ~/.pi/agent (not ~/.pi), so skills live at
+  // <home>/skills — there is no extra 'agent' segment under the isolated home.
+  return [join(harnessHome('pi'), 'skills'), join(cwd, '.pi', 'skills')];
 }
 
 /** Enumerate skill dirs under a set of roots, deduped by real path. A directory
@@ -764,12 +925,13 @@ function launchRuntime(runtime: RuntimeName, args: string[], yolo: boolean): nev
         cliArgs.push(...args);
       }
       console.log(`[mosaic] Launching ${label}${modeStr}${missionStr}...`);
+      recordLaunch('claude', cliArgs, yolo);
       execLeaseGatedRuntime('claude', cliArgs, process.env, yolo);
       break;
     }
 
     case 'codex': {
-      ensureRuntimeConfig('codex', join(homedir(), '.codex', 'instructions.md'));
+      ensureRuntimeConfig('codex', join(harnessHome('codex'), 'instructions.md'));
       const cliArgs = yolo ? ['--dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox'] : [];
       if (hasMissionNoArgs) {
         cliArgs.push(missionPrompt);
@@ -777,14 +939,17 @@ function launchRuntime(runtime: RuntimeName, args: string[], yolo: boolean): nev
         cliArgs.push(...args);
       }
       console.log(`[mosaic] Launching ${label}${modeStr}${missionStr}...`);
-      execRuntime('codex', cliArgs);
+      recordLaunch('codex', cliArgs, yolo);
+      execRuntime('codex', cliArgs, { ...process.env, ...harnessEnv('codex') });
       break;
     }
 
     case 'opencode': {
-      ensureRuntimeConfig('opencode', join(homedir(), '.config', 'opencode', 'AGENTS.md'));
+      // opencode follows XDG, so its config resolves to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/opencode.
+      ensureRuntimeConfig('opencode', join(harnessHome('opencode'), 'opencode', 'AGENTS.md'));
       console.log(`[mosaic] Launching ${label}${modeStr}...`);
-      execRuntime('opencode', args);
+      recordLaunch('opencode', args, yolo);
+      execRuntime('opencode', args, { ...process.env, ...harnessEnv('opencode') });
       break;
     }
 
@@ -799,6 +964,7 @@ function launchRuntime(runtime: RuntimeName, args: string[], yolo: boolean): nev
         cliArgs.push(...args);
       }
       console.log(`[mosaic] Launching ${label}${modeStr}${missionStr}...`);
+      recordLaunch('pi', cliArgs, yolo);
       execLeaseGatedRuntime('pi', cliArgs);
       break;
     }
@@ -835,6 +1001,7 @@ function execLeaseGatedRuntime(
     [launcher, ...dangerousArgs, '--runtime', runtime, '--', runtime, ...args],
     {
       ...baseEnv,
+      ...harnessEnv(runtime),
       MOSAIC_LEASE_BROKER_SOCKET: defaultLeaseBrokerSocket(baseEnv),
       MOSAIC_RUNTIME_GENERATION: baseEnv['MOSAIC_RUNTIME_GENERATION'] ?? '1',
     },