fix: lifecycle state machine hardening (closes #411, closes #412, closes #424, closes #426, closes #434, closes #443, closes #445, closes #432, closes #433, closes #423)

[0xLeif]

⚠️ Status note

This PR currently contains 11 of 12 changed files. src/change.rs (860KB) could not be uploaded through the automation channel and must be added to this branch (expected git blob SHA 7252c4190a306683e3fdbba4116ae4f1312a652b; full file and a 71KB patch vs main are attached to the task report / available from the author). The branch will not compile until it lands. Everything else is byte-verified against the validated local commit.

Summary

Consolidated PR for the W3 lifecycle workstream — the fixes interleave inside the same lifecycle files (src/change.rs, src/commands/change.rs), so they land together. Validation at the full local HEAD: 1734 unit + 228 integration tests pass, cargo clippy -- -D warnings clean, only failure is the pre-existing root-only change::tests::non_git_walk_skips_volatile_trees_but_fails_on_relevant_walk_errors (fails on main too when run as root).

Issue → fix → tests

• check --strict fails cryptically on repos with no git remote (unable to inspect changed paths) #411 cryptic no-remote error: uncovered_meaningful_paths no longer flattens git stderr — new git_output_allow_empty_result preserves it; error names cause + remediation ("SDD coverage needs a comparison base: no remote default ref found and no recorded base commit; add a remote … or run specsync change adopt"). Tests: missing_comparison_base_error_names_cause_and_remediation, unreachable_recorded_base_error_names_the_base.
• Stray directory under .specsync/archive/changes hard-fails ledger enumeration (change new / check) #412 stray archive dir: stray dirs under .specsync/archive/changes (no state.json, no files) skipped with a stderr Warning naming path + remediation; entries containing ledger files still hard-fail (tampered archives never silently skipped). Test: stray_archive_directory_without_state_is_skipped_with_warning.
• change approve on a verifying change silently regresses it to implementing, discarding passed verification #424 approve on verifying: re-approval of a verifying change now prints a loud reapproval_discards_verification_warning naming the discarded evidence + re-verify remediation (refusal impossible: 12 existing tests assert the transition itself). Test: reapproving_verifying_change_warns_that_verification_is_discarded.
• change answer accepts and persists bogus question keys (and other unvalidated identity inputs) #426 bogus question keys: answer rejects unknown keys (names the advertised set) and empty answers; actors trimmed/single-line via normalize_identity; validate_module_name rejects surrounding whitespace; create_change rejects nonexistent --spec (registry-aware). Tests: answer_rejects_unknown_question_keys_with_advertised_set, answer_rejects_empty_answers, approval_actor_is_trimmed_and_must_be_single_line, create_change_rejects_nonexistent_spec_reference.
• Lifecycle JSON: unknown fields silently deleted on rewrite; schema_version gating inconsistent; type errors omit file paths #434 unknown JSON fields: extra: BTreeMap<String, Value> flatten-passthrough on ChangeRecord/ApprovalLedger/VerificationRecord/VerificationAttemptLedger (unknown fields survive rewrites); uniform schema_version != 1 gating with remediation; serde errors name the file path. Tests: unknown_state_fields_are_preserved_on_rewrite, load_change_rejects_unsupported_schema_version_with_remediation, invalid_ledgers_name_their_file_path.
• change list/status/show mishandle degradation — one corrupt workspace hides everything, stuck next-step labels, corrupt-history exits 0 #443 degradation handling: ChangeListing/list_changes_with_errors — healthy records still listed, one error row per malformed workspace, non-zero exit; status prints Dependencies:; corrupt archived evidence → non-zero. Tests: list_changes_with_errors_keeps_healthy_records_and_reports_malformed_workspaces, change_list_surfaces_malformed_workspaces_and_exits_nonzero, change_status_prints_dependencies, change_status_fails_on_corrupt_archived_evidence. (Item 2, stuck "next: verify" label: not reproducible — label is state-machine driven; deferred with justification.)
• Stale-evidence recovery dead-ends — reopen's approve suggestion is refused in accepted state; stale --threshold 0 off-by-one; warn mode exits 1 #445 stale-evidence recovery: reopen error names the real escape ("restore the artifact files to their approved bytes …"); explicit --enforcement warn exits 0 on stale findings; --threshold 0 off-by-one fixed (behind > 0 && behind >= threshold); add-then-revert commit pairs no longer count as drift (byte-identical short-circuit); stale-input errors name the offending inputs. Tests: stale_threshold_zero_passes_when_in_sync_and_fails_on_real_drift, stale_warn_enforcement_exits_zero_despite_drift, stale_ignores_add_then_revert_commit_pairs, stale_definition_approval_error_names_the_restore_escape, stale_project_input_digest_names_the_offending_input.
• change adopt hard-fails local-only repos on the very next check (require_change with no remote base); --enforcement warn still exits 1 #432 adopt on local-only repos: coverage diff base falls back to the adopt-recorded local base commit (verified via rev-parse) instead of hard-failing; SDD lifecycle errors honor explicit --enforcement warn; adopt --dry-run validates --source. Tests: adoption_base_commit_is_the_coverage_diff_base_on_local_only_repos, adopt_dry_run_validates_the_source, sdd_errors_honor_enforcement_warn_exit_semantics.
• change new self-stales every in-flight change via the sequence ledger rewrite; transaction journal corruption bricks all writes #433 self-staling + journal: project_input_digest excludes the change-sequence ledger (bookkeeping, not a delivery input) so change new no longer stales every in-flight change; reopen remediation strings print the mandatory --actor/--reason flags; corrupt transaction journal error names the file + recovery. Tests: creating_another_change_does_not_self_stale_in_flight_verification, corrupt_transaction_journal_names_the_file_and_recovery.
• change supersede is unusable beyond toy cases — bare not-found for unmerged predecessors, silent coverage failure on intervening edits #423 supersede UX: --digest now optional (resolved from the predecessor's signed acceptance manifest); unmerged predecessor → "not merged into this branch's history" with remediation; rejected covering successors surface in the diagnostic with the exact failing predicate. Tests: change_supersede_resolves_the_entry_digest_automatically, supersede_names_an_unmerged_predecessor, rejected_covering_successor_diagnostic_names_the_failing_predicate.

Deferred

• Archived evidence authentication gaps — archive accepts never-committed/tampered approvals; reopenings[] history silently rewritable #428 archived evidence authentication (refs only): requires schema-level changes (bind archive preflight to committed evidence bytes; aggregate/chain digest over the reopenings ledger) with blast radius over ~40 archive tests — scoped but not implemented here; recommend a dedicated PR.

Closes #411, closes #412, closes #424, closes #426, closes #434, closes #443, closes #445, closes #432, closes #433, closes #423

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CI Summary

Check	Status
Validate action.yml	✅ Passed
Packaged Action Consumer	❌ failure
Dependency Audit	✅ Passed
Code Coverage	❌ failure
Format Check	❌ failure
Docs Site	✅ Passed
Spec Validation	❌ failure
Tests (build, test, clippy)	❌ failure
VS Code Extension	✅ Passed

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