# nagent_review_v3.1 — Track Completion Report

**Track:** `nagent_review_20260608` (v3.1 delta thickening of the v3 review)
**Shipped:** 2026-06-20
**Owner:** Tier 1 Orchestrator (sole author of spec + plan); Tier 2 Tech Lead (executed the 15 phases per `plan_v3.1.md`)
**Type:** Research-only (no `src/*.py` changes; no `tests/*.py` changes; no `conductor/*.md` policy changes; no `AGENTS.md` changes)
**Lineage:** v1 (2026-06-08, `report.md`) → v2/v2.1/v2.2 (2026-06-12, all preserved) → v2.3 (2026-06-12, 3,965 lines, canonical prior) → v3 (2026-06-19, 664 lines, first cut at the 24-commit evolution + case studies) → **v3.1 (this track)**

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## What this track was

A **delta thickening** of the v3 review (664 lines) to bring per-cluster depth up and append the 3 new top-level sections requested by the user after v3 was reviewed:

1. **§12 YAML avoidance** (~188 lines) — every YAML use site in nagent flagged as "do not adopt"; markdown + custom DSL (survey grammar + SSDL tags) proposed as the alternative.
2. **§13 Agent context-window observations** (~125 lines) — empirical OpenCode + MiniMax M3 findings from the user; nagent's stricter enforcement; Manual Slop's partial mitigation; "agents forget to read" shortcoming flagged.
3. **§14 Fine-tuning observations** (~113 lines) — diagnosis of generalized-model bottleneck; Together.ai + 5-6 prosumer vendor survey.

The 11 v3 cluster sections (§1 Campaigns through §11 Collisions case study) were each thickened from ~60 lines to ~170-270 lines with the per-cluster sub-section structure (4-7 sub-sections per cluster, including "Pattern summary" self-contained framing + per-commit detail + Manual Slop implications with file:line citations + honest gaps ≥6 + code-shape sketches with `{ssdl}` tags).

---

## User directives applied

The user reviewed v3 and gave four explicit directives during the v3 → v3.1 transition:

| Directive | User statement (paraphrased) | How Tier 2 applied it |
|---|---|---|
| **YAML avoidance** | "I don't like YAML ... I would not use it in whatever I take from his nagent implementation. I would continue to utilize markdown in combination with a custom DSL." | New §12 section; every YAML use site flagged as "do not adopt"; manual-slop-style markdown + survey grammar + SSDL proposed as the alternative. |
| **Cohesive section flow** | "Just cohesively adjust the sections so the information flows well with the user's subjective opinion preserved." | Sub-section structure (§N.1 through §N.x) flows: What N adds → driver/structure → invariants → per-commit detail → Manual Slop implications → honest gaps → code-shape sketch. |
| **File separation (v3 not overwritten)** | User explicitly directed that v3 should be preserved (separate file, not thickening in place). | v3 (`nagent_review_v3_20260619.md`, 664 lines) preserved untouched. v3.1 content in a new separate file `nagent_review_v3_1_report_20260620.md` (2,214 lines). Commit `7fc56ef6 conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 restore v3 + create separate v3.1 report file`. |
| **Renumbering** | Per the file-separation directive: the new §12-§14 sections need to fit without colliding with v3's existing §12 Decisions / §13 Cross-references / §14 References. | v3's §12 / §13 / §14 renumbered to §15 / §16 / §17 in the v3.1 report. |

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## What was produced

### New files (4)

| File | Purpose | Lines |
|---|---|---|
| `spec_v3.1.md` | The v3.1 spec (11 cluster scheme + 3 new sections + chunking strategy + 13 verification criteria + standalone-readability principle) | 343 |
| `plan_v3.1.md` | The v3.1 implementation plan (15 phases + per-cluster sub-section structure + chunking-strategy verifications) | 670 |
| `nagent_review_v3_1_report_20260620.md` | The v3.1 canonical review (11 cluster sections thickened + 3 new sections §12-§14 + renumbered §15-§17) | **2,214** |
| `nagent_takeaways_v3_1_20260620.md` | The v3.1 bridge doc (cross-reference to v3 takeaways + sibling reviews) | 63 |

### Refreshed files (4)

| File | Refresh action | Lines after |
|---|---|---|
| `comparison_table.md` | REPLACE — refreshed for v3.1; adds rows for the 3 new sections + the 11 clusters | 86 |
| `decisions.md` | REPLACE — refreshed for v3.1; self-contained candidate list (no "v2.3 → v3 status mapping" dependency); adds Candidates 27-30 from the new observations | 159 |
| `metadata.json` | REFRESH — v3.1 fields added (v3_1_initialized, v3_1_chunking_strategy, v3_1_scope, v3_1_observations_added, v3_1_verification_criteria, v3_1_user_directives_applied) | 438 |
| `state.toml` | REFRESH — v3.1 phases + tasks + verification; v3 phases preserved below | 336 |

### Preserved unchanged (8)

| File | Why preserved |
|---|---|
| `nagent_review_v3_20260619.md` | User directive: v3 stays untouched (file-separation). 664 lines. Recoverable as the v3 review at any time via `git log -p`. |
| `nagent_review_v2_3_20260612.md` | The previous canonical review; historical. 3,965 lines. |
| `nagent_review_v2*.md` + `report.md` | All v1/v2.x historical reviews. |
| `spec.md` + `plan.md` | Original v1 spec/plan pair. |
| `spec_v3.md` + `plan_v3.md` | The v3 spec/plan pair (historical; v3 was the first cut). |
| `nagent_takeaways_20260608.md` | v2.3-era bridge; unchanged. |
| `nagent_takeaways_v3_20260619.md` | v3-era bridge; unchanged. |
| `conductor/tracks.md` | Per "B. Same track" decision (v3 → v3.1 is a refresh of the existing track, not a new track). |

### New track artifacts

| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `docs/reports/TRACK_COMPLETION_nagent_review_v3_1_20260620.md` | This file. |

---

## Phase breakdown (per `plan_v3.1.md`)

15 phases; 16+ atomic commits; 1 commit per phase. Tier 2 executed all 15.

| Phase | Title | Commit | SHA-7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Setup + audit | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 Phase 1 setup + audit` | `8fb8276` |
| 2 | Thicken §1 Campaigns | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 thicken §1 Campaigns cluster` | `bd36aa4b` |
| 3 | Thicken §2 Conversation safety net | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 thicken §2 Conversation safety net cluster` | `478b088b` |
| 4 | Thicken §3 Hooks | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 thicken §3 Hooks cluster` | `d17ee930` |
| 5 | Thicken §4 Project-local roots | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 thicken §4 Project-local roots cluster` | `1bc8e924` |
| 6 | Thicken §5 Provider expansion | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 thicken §5 Provider expansion cluster` | `987f4a97` |
| 7 | Thicken §6 Delegation rewrite | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 thicken §6 Delegation rewrite cluster` | `a406d290` |
| 8 | Thicken §7 Robustness | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 thicken §7 Robustness cluster` | `b9b31006` |
| 9 | Thicken §8 Operating rules | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 thicken §8 Operating rules cluster` | `eb7da8d8` |
| 10 | Thicken §9 Case-study methodology | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 thicken §9 Case-study methodology cluster` | `24442379` |
| 11 | Thicken §10 PEP case study | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 thicken §10 PEP case study cluster` | `10c7d1d0` |
| 12 | Thicken §11 Collisions case study | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 thicken §11 Collisions case study cluster` | `1574ee47` |
| 13 | §12-§14 + renumber v3 §12-§14 → §15-§17 | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 §12-§14 new sections + renumber v3 §12-§14 to §15-§17` | `63b34eae` |
| 14 | File separation (restore v3 + create separate v3.1 report) | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 restore v3 + create separate v3.1 report file` | `7fc56ef6` |
| 15 | Refresh side artifacts (comparison_table, decisions, takeaways_v3_1) | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 Phase 14 refresh side artifacts` | `fc25ba05` |
| 16 | Verification + final | `conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 Phase 15 chunking-strategy + format-commitment verification + final` | `8cd4a2fb` |

(Git notes attached to each per `conductor/workflow.md` Phase Completion protocol.)

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## Verification results (per `spec_v3.1.md` §7)

| # | Criterion | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main review ≥3,800 lines (chunking floor) | ⚠️ PARTIAL | v3.1 main report is 2,214 lines (57% of floor). User accepted as v3.1 final. |
| 2 | Per-cluster 300-450 lines (deep-dive 400-500) | ⚠️ PARTIAL | Most clusters 170-270 lines. Sub-section structure hit; depth under target. |
| 3 | Per-cluster 4-7 sub-sections | ✅ MET | All clusters have §N.1-§N.x sub-section structure. |
| 4 | Per-cluster ≥30 source-read citations | ✅ MET | Per-cluster file:line citations present throughout. |
| 5 | Per-cluster ≥6 honest gaps | ✅ MET | All clusters have 6+ honest-gap bullets. |
| 6 | Per-cluster 2-3 Manual Slop implication paragraphs with file:line citations | ✅ MET | All clusters have Manual Slop implications with citations. |
| 7 | Format commitment verified (5 commitments) | ✅ MET | No JSON blocks; 7-column tables in comparison_table; SSDL tags; survey grammar; source-read citations all present. |
| 8 | §12, §13, §14 present at target LOC ranges | ⚠️ PARTIAL | All 3 sections present; §13 (125 lines) and §14 (113 lines) under their respective 200-300 / 150-250 targets. |
| 9 | Side artifacts refreshed | ✅ MET | comparison_table.md, decisions.md, nagent_takeaways_v3_1_20260620.md all committed with v3.1 deltas. |
| 10 | spec_v3.1.md + plan_v3.1.md committed | ✅ MET | Both committed in `b693c3ae conductor(track): nagent_review_v3.1 spec + plan (standalone-readable)`. |
| 11 | One commit per phase with git notes | ✅ MET | 16 atomic commits; git notes attached per task. |
| 12 | v3 preserved (git log -p recoverable) | ✅ MET | v3 (`nagent_review_v3_20260619.md`) untouched at 664 lines. Recoverable via `git log -p`. |
| 13 | Standalone readability | ✅ MET | Per the load-bearing principle added during spec/plan review: a reader who has never read v2.3 or v3 gets a complete picture of (a) what nagent is at `a1f0680`, (b) what the case-study repos show, (c) what the 3 new observations imply for Manual Slop. |

**Summary:** 10 of 13 criteria fully met; 3 criteria (depth-floor-related) partially met. User accepted the partial depth as v3.1 final (decision 2026-06-20).

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## What's NOT in this track (out of scope)

- **v3.2 to hit the chunking depth floor.** User declined. v3.1 ships at 2,214 lines; a future v3.2 (or v4) could thicken further if needed.
- **Implementation of any candidates.** v3.1's `decisions.md` lists Candidates 27-30 (markdown+DSL lock-in, per-turn ground-truth hook, dataset-curation track, cache TTL hardening). These are research-only inputs to the user's deferred Manual Slop rebuild, not v3.1 implementations.
- **Fine-tuning vendor selection.** §14 captures the user's interest + 6 prosumer vendors; vendor selection is a separate future track per Candidate 29.
- **Modifications to project source code.** No `src/*.py`, `tests/*.py`, `conductor/*.md`, `.opencode/*`, or `AGENTS.md` changes.

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## Followup items (deferred)

These are flagged in `decisions.md` and `metadata.json` for future tracks:

1. **Candidate 27 (HIGH): Markdown + custom DSL lock-in** — explicitly adopt markdown + survey grammar + SSDL for campaign-style artifacts; reject YAML for new project artifacts. (From §12.)
2. **Candidate 28 (MEDIUM): Per-turn ground-truth hook for Manual Slop** — adopt nagent's `--hook-per-run` model; inject a "what to read next" status block at the top of every `send_result()`. (From §3 + §13.)
3. **Candidate 29 (MEDIUM): Dataset-curation track for fine-tuning** — separate track to curate the Manual Slop conventions/workflows dataset for fine-tuning; vendor selection deferred. (From §14.)
4. **Candidate 30 (LOW): Cache TTL GUI contract hardening** — make the per-turn grounding primitive also track cache state; cross-ref `cache_friendly_context.md`. (From §13 + §5.1 cache strategy.)
5. **Stretch goal from spec_v3.md §3.1:** Cross-track synthesis comparing operating rules across nagent + Fable + project DOD + superpowers using-superpowers. (Not started; deferred per user.)
6. **v3 candidates (25-30 entries) are inputs to the user's deferred Manual Slop rebuild.** v3.1 does not implement them; the rebuild is a separate effort.

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## Honest gaps in v3.1 itself

1. **Main review LOC is 57% of the chunking floor.** Per-cluster depth is 170-270 lines vs the 300-450 target. The user accepted this as v3.1 final; v3.2 (or v4) could thicken further if needed.
2. **§13 and §14 new sections are under their LOC targets.** §13 is 125 lines vs the 200-300 target; §14 is 113 lines vs the 150-250 target. The content is present; the depth is thinner than specified.
3. **`plan_v3.1.md` §1.1 said "thicken in place" but Tier 2 correctly applied the user's file-separation directive (separate file).** The plan should be amended in a followup commit to reflect the corrected intent. Not a blocker — the execution followed the user's directive correctly.
4. **No automated chunking-strategy audit script.** The verifications were manual greps; a `scripts/audit_nagent_review_v3_1_chunking.py` script could enforce them mechanically in CI. Stretch goal; not started.

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## Status

**v3.1 SHIPPED 2026-06-20.** Ready for archive. All 16 atomic commits present in `git log`. Per `conductor/workflow.md` §"State.toml Template", the track status moves to `completed` upon this report's commit.

**No code modified.** All changes are research artifacts (markdown + state files). The `src/`, `tests/`, `conductor/` policy files, and `AGENTS.md` are untouched.