docs(ignition): acceleration ruling — front-load count, parallel Phase IV, flip pre-build

[kyle-sexton]

Dated Phase-4 note: operator ruling (2026-07-22) to move at maximum speed within the predicate's intent. Calendar gates stay binding; sanctioned levers are front-loaded seeding (genuine items only), parallel Phase IV ignition (gate already met), and pre-built Phase III flip machinery. Records same-day watch activity: drain PRs #23/#24/#26 + Dependabot #25 merged in kyle-sexton/autonomy-demo-scratch, queue reseeded (scratch#27–#31), predicate completions=6.

Related

• Pin gate runner image to ubuntu-24.04 kyle-sexton/autonomy-demo-scratch#27, chore: sync standards configs #28, build: Bump the github-actions group with 14 updates #29, chore: sync standards configs #30, chore: sync standards configs #31. No linked issue — status-note documentation; nothing in this repo closes.

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[claude]

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PR Review #939

• Gather context and read changed files
• Review changes for correctness and alignment with guidelines
• Post review findings

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Summary

Pure documentation change — 16 lines appended to the Phase 4 blockquote in docs/topics/autonomy-ignition/PLAN.md. No code, no plugin manifests, no schema changes. No security or correctness concerns.

What the addition records

The note records an operator ruling (2026-07-22) and same-day watch activity. The three sanctioned levers are:

1. Front-load completion count — seed genuine C2 items fast; fabricated seeds explicitly forbidden
2. Parallel Phase IV ignition — gate (Phase I demonstrable) already met 2026-07-21
3. Pre-build flip machinery — promotion PR draft so eligibility date (~2026-08-04) is ratify-and-merge, not a build day

Activity record: drain PRs #23/#24/#26 + Dependabot #25 merged; scratch#27–#31 seeded; predicate at completions=6, gate 100%, reverts 0.

Review findings

Evidence integrity — well-handled. The ruling explicitly preserves both calendar gates ("shortening them would gut the evidence's meaning") and the no-fabricated-seeds constraint. The Dependabot PR #25 exclusion ("never count as drain evidence") is a good explicit record. The Refs vs Closes linkage defect on #24 is honestly captured.

Minor: roman vs arabic numeral inconsistency.
The ruling uses "Phase IV" (roman) while the rest of this document uses "Phase 4" (arabic). Cosmetic only — no ambiguity in context — but worth noting as a future consistency nit.
Line 247: (2) **ignite Phase IV in parallel**

"Phase III flip machinery" terminology.
The ruling body references "Phase III flip machinery" (roman, upper) which refers to the roadmap-layer C2 promotion machinery, not Phase 3 of this local plan (which is already DONE). This is clear in context but a reader skimming only this section might briefly conflate the two layers.
Line 251: (3) **pre-build the Phase III flip machinery**

Format and conventions. The addition follows the established blockquote / dated-status-note pattern used throughout Phase 4. Branch name (docs/ignition-accel-note) and PR title (docs(ignition): ...) conform to the <type>/<description> and Conventional Commits requirements in CLAUDE.md. No plugin-manifest or schema changes, so the fresh-docs mandate doesn't apply here.

Verdict

LGTM. The two nits (numeral consistency, flip-machinery layer labeling) are cosmetic and don't affect correctness. No blockers.