/press

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

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

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

Inputs

Press accepts this invocation:

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

<slug> names the pipeline slug. Press requires it. Press reads .cheese/cook/<slug>.md for the Cook handoff.

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

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

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

Press preserves the Cook durableflags: value without change. Press ignores the Cook tastetest: value.

Packaged commands

Run this command for boundary routing:

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

The request contains only outcome and repair_cycles:

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

Set outcome to green, incontractred, invalidevidence, or productionchanged.

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

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

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

Use these paths:

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

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

Execution telemetry

Run this command after routing:

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

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

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

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

Telemetry never controls the route. See [references/telemetry.md](references/telemetry.md).

Adversarial loop

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

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

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

Baseline-aware gates

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

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

See [../cook/references/quality-gates.md](../cook/references/quality-gates.md). Also see [references/gap-analysis.md](references/gap-analysis.md).

Flow

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

Use [code-intelligence-routing.md](../cheese/references/code-intelligence-routing.md) for source changes.

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

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

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

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

Auto mode

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

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

Stop after blocked. Do not dispatch Age.

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

Output

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

Write the file with write-handoff-artifact. Use the canonical preamble:

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

The [handback contract](../cheese/references/handback-contract.md) defines the status: grammar. The preamble accepts no other keys. Put every Press value in the report body.

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

baseline: names the one artifact that Cook recorded. See [../cook/references/quality-gates.md](../cook/references/quality-gates.md).

Write these body sections under the preamble:

• ## Attempts — one row for each attempt. Give the attempt number, outcome, router action, candidate path, route path, and telemetry record path.
• ## Evidence — the stable attack identity and the test digest.
• ## Review follow-ups — each out-of-contract concern. Write none when the run records no concern. Age reads this section.

Map the router action to the terminal preamble:

next: done is terminal. It never starts another phase.

A valid third-RED stop is ready for terminal reporting. It does not dispatch Age. It can offer a later Cook handoff that the user selects.

Reserve next: age for a GREEN Dispatch("/age"). The corrective Continue belongs to Press. It is not a global phase handoff. Do not write next: press.

Handoff

Pipeline: culture → mold → cook → [press] → age → cure → plate

After a GREEN Press report, use the shared [handoff gate](../cheese/references/handoff-gate.md). Start the review with /age <slug>.

The Press owner controls a corrective Cook continuation. Do not offer that continuation as a second global route.

Forward --hard, --auto, and --open-pr to /age when the caller supplied them. Never add --open-pr.

Rules

• Do not edit production code, production fixtures, or production adapters.
• Do not dispatch a global Cook repair from Press.
• Do not use more than two corrective continuations.
• Do not change the attack between retries.
• Do not treat out-of-contract behavior as an implementation request. Record it under ## Review follow-ups. Report the run as ok-with-concerns on a GREEN pass.
• Preserve baseline-aware readiness unless these route rules replace it.

Discipline

Press uses evidence first. An unverified failure is not a RED.

Name the outcome before each route decision. Name the attack digest and completed repair_cycles count. Stop if one value is missing. Do not guess.

Generated bundle command inventory: [references/commands.md](references/commands.md).