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+# nil_sentinel_pattern — v1
+
+**Why this iteration:** Lifted verbatim from `conductor/code_styleguides/error_handling.md` §"The 5 Patterns" #1 (lines 23-47).
+This is the baseline encoding — the convention-style description with code example currently in production.
+Future variants will test alternative encodings (rationale-first, before/after, tabular) against this baseline.
+
+**Source:** `conductor/code_styleguides/error_handling.md:23-47`
+
+---
+
+### 1. Nil-Sentinel Dataclasses (replaces `None`)
+
+When a function would "return None" in conventional Python, return a
+nil-sentinel dataclass instead. The sentinel has all default values
+(zero-initialized) and is safe to read from.
+
+```python
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class NilPath:
+ exists: bool = False
+ read_text: str = ""
+ errors: list[ErrorInfo] = field(default_factory=list)
+
+NIL_PATH = NilPath() # module-level singleton
+```
+
+Callers don't need `if x is None:` checks; they can call `x.read_text` and
+get `""` on the nil path.
+
+**Convention:** `NIL_*` (uppercase) is the module-level singleton. `Nil*`
+(PascalCase) is the class. Frozen dataclass prevents runtime mutation.
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diff --git a/conductor/directives/result_error_pattern/v1.md b/conductor/directives/result_error_pattern/v1.md
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+# result_error_pattern — v1
+
+**Why this iteration:** Lifted verbatim from `conductor/code_styleguides/error_handling.md` §"The 5 Patterns" (lines 21-131) + §"Hard Rules" (lines 213-242).
+This is the baseline encoding — the prose+code-example style currently in production.
+Future variants will test alternative encodings (rationale-first, tabular) against this baseline.
+
+**Source:** `conductor/code_styleguides/error_handling.md:21-131 + 213-242`
+
+---
+
+## The 5 Patterns
+
+### 1. Nil-Sentinel Dataclasses (replaces `None`)
+
+When a function would "return None" in conventional Python, return a
+nil-sentinel dataclass instead. The sentinel has all default values
+(zero-initialized) and is safe to read from.
+
+```python
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class NilPath:
+ exists: bool = False
+ read_text: str = ""
+ errors: list[ErrorInfo] = field(default_factory=list)
+
+NIL_PATH = NilPath() # module-level singleton
+```
+
+Callers don't need `if x is None:` checks; they can call `x.read_text` and
+get `""` on the nil path.
+
+**Convention:** `NIL_*` (uppercase) is the module-level singleton. `Nil*`
+(PascalCase) is the class. Frozen dataclass prevents runtime mutation.
+
+### 2. Zero-Initialization (via `@dataclass` defaults)
+
+Fresh memory from the OS is zero-initialized. In Python, `@dataclass` with
+field defaults achieves the same: the data is in a valid "empty" state
+without any explicit constructor logic.
+
+```python
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class String8:
+ text: str = ""
+ size: int = 0
+```
+
+Code that consumes `String8` (e.g., a for-loop bounded by `size`) works
+correctly with the zero-initialized instance.
+
+**Convention:** Mutable defaults use `field(default_factory=list)` (NOT `= []`,
+which is shared across instances).
+
+### 3. Fail Early (push validation to shallow stack frames)
+
+Don't defer error checks to deep in the call stack. Push them to the entry
+point so the user knows ASAP if the operation cannot succeed.
+
+```python
+def do_thing(path: Path) -> Result[str]:
+ resolved = _resolve_path(path) # validation happens HERE, not deeper
+ if not resolved.ok:
+ return Result(data="", errors=resolved.errors)
+ ...
+```
+
+**Convention:** `assert` at entry points for invariants. Early `return` for
+user-facing errors. `try/finally` (Python's analog to `goto defer`) for
+cleanup.
+
+### 4. AND over OR (Result with side-channel errors; no sum types)
+
+Instead of `Union[T, E]` or `Result<T, E>`, return a struct with BOTH data
+and errors as parallel fields:
+
+```python
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class Result(Generic[T]):
+ data: T # the happy-path result (zero-initialized on failure)
+ errors: list[ErrorInfo] = field(default_factory=list) # side-channel; empty = success
+```
+
+Callers:
+
+```python
+r = do_thing(path)
+if r.errors:
+ for err in r.errors: log(err.ui_message())
+# use r.data regardless (it's the zero-initialized value on failure)
+```
+
+**Convention:** `Result` is generic over `T` (the success data) but NOT over
+the error type. Errors are always `list[ErrorInfo]` (a side-channel list, not
+a tagged sum). This collapses the bifurcated `if r.ok: ... else: ...`
+codepaths into a single flat codepath.
+
+### 5. Error Info as Side-Channel (not as exception)
+
+Errors flow as DATA in the `Result` struct, not as exceptions. SDK
+boundaries (which must catch vendor exceptions) convert them to `ErrorInfo`:
+
+```python
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class ErrorInfo:
+ kind: ErrorKind
+ message: str
+ source: str = ""
+ original: BaseException | None = None
+ def ui_message(self) -> str:
+ src = f"[{self.source}] " if self.source else ""
+ return f"{src}{self.kind.value}: {self.message}"
+```
+
+**Convention:** `ErrorInfo` is the canonical error type. The legacy
+`ai_client.ProviderError` exception class is removed; SDK helpers
+(`_classify_<vendor>_error()`) RETURN `ErrorInfo` instead of raising.
+
+---
+
+## Hard Rules (enforced in all `src/*.py` as of 2026-06-27)
+
+These are non-negotiable in all `src/*.py` files. The migration-target
+files (14 of them) were historically not enforced; as of 2026-06-27 the
+`scripts/audit_optional_in_baseline_files.py --strict` audit (renamed
+from `_in_3_files.py` per the contradictions report) covers all
+`src/*.py`, and the `cruft_elimination_20260627` track documents the
+remaining work to bring the 14 migration-target files into compliance.
+
+- **`Optional[T]` return types are FORBIDDEN** in all `src/*.py`. Use
+  `Result[T]` (with `NIL_T` singleton if needed) instead. Rationale:
+  `Optional[T]` is the sum type `Union[T, None]` that Fleury's framework
+  replaces. Mixing the two patterns reintroduces the bifurcation the
+  convention is designed to remove.
+  - Argument types that may be `None` (e.g., `rag_engine: Optional[Any] = None`)
+    remain allowed; they describe a caller choice, not a runtime failure
+    of this function. Only `Optional[T]` *return* types are banned.
+- **Function return types must be `Result[T]` for any function that can fail
+  at runtime.** A function that can't fail (e.g., `get_name() -> str`)
+  doesn't need a `Result`. The classification is "can this return a different
+  value under different runtime conditions?" If yes, `Result`. If no, plain
+  return type.
+- **Catch SDK exceptions at the boundary only.** Inside the 3 refactored
+  files, the only place an exception is caught is at the SDK call site
+  (e.g., `_send_<vendor>_result()` wrapping the SDK call). Internal
+  `try/except` is reserved for converting `OSError`, `PermissionError`, and
+  similar I/O exceptions to `ErrorInfo` at the mcp_client tool boundary.
+
+The verification script `scripts/audit_optional_returns.py` enforces the
+`Optional[X]` rule by failing CI if any new `Optional[X]` return type
+appears in any `src/*.py` file. (As of 2026-06-27 this is the successor to
+`scripts/audit_optional_in_3_files.py`, which covered only 4 baseline files;
+the new script scans all `src/*.py` per the cruft_elimination_20260627
+expansion of the ban.)
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