Gap ledger: native idle compaction, enableArtifact false as a host choice, PR descriptions read back after publishing - #1169

Scope

• What this PR changes, in one or two sentences: This PR closes three ADOPT rows of the Claude Code practice gap ledger:

  • C3-0006: native idle compaction in the context-compaction slot;
  • A3-0031: enableArtifact false recorded as a host choice in settings-permissions;
  • B2-0004: PR descriptions are published from a file and read back, in pr-review-pre-cue, with the repository's one PR-writing workflow step changed to match.

  The command center dispatched the ledger on 2026-10-15. Each row was confirmed by a second-family re-check, or (A3-0031) by the command center's adjudication.

• Base commit: 9cf122558 (rebased; registry and manifest label only). The first commit's fail-first ran at the pre-rebase base 420452059, and the fold's at 9cf122558 (see Local commands run).

• Lane: lane:foundation

• Owned paths touched:

  • the practice skill's slots.json, token-efficiency.md, native-clients.md and git-github-automation.md, plus the slot manifest (sha256_when_labeled only);
  • catalogs/foundation/upstream-surface-dispositions.json: the idleCompaction reason is rewritten, and a new enableArtifact row is added;
  • .github/workflows/catalog-freshness.yml: a workflow change (see below);
  • docs/github-automation.md: one dated sentence;
  • tests/test_native_practice_ledger_rows_tokeff_new.py (new) and tests/test_catalog_freshness_propose.py;
  • manifests/evidence.json.

Rows:

• C3-0006: the context-compaction notes name native idle compaction (2.1.299) as how compaction happens before an idle gap, and keep it on.
  • idleCompaction stays unset, following the command center's ruling of 2026-10-14; false is for a single session only.
  • The idleCompaction disposition's stale "rollout" reason is rewritten from the 2.1.300 docs. The row is default-on: the host leaves the native default alone (docs/decisions/2026-10-06-harness-context-budget-refresh.md:25), and the dispositions rules (:13-14) call that default-on (the command center's FULL read at bf06685, P2-2).
  • Rows are added for three neighbouring keys (the same read, P3):
    • claude:setting:disableArtifact, not-applicable: a deprecated alias of enableArtifact;
    • claude:env:DISABLE_AUTO_COMPACT, default-on: unset, so automatic and idle compaction stay on;
    • claude:env:CLAUDE_CODE_IDLE_COMPACT_MIN_TOKENS, default-on: unset, at its 200000-token default.
• A3-0031: a disposition row claude:setting:enableArtifact: enabled, value false, carrier the host's user settings.
  • The host value comes from an exact-key read on 2026-10-15.
  • No template change and no host write: re-applying the template keeps host-only keys (tools/adoption/apply_claude_settings.py:323-329).
• B2-0004:
  • The catalog-freshness propose step already wrote the PR description to a file and passed it with --body-file.
  • It now also reads the published description back with gh pr view --json body and exits 1, before reporting pr_url, if the stored text differs. GitHub's REST update silently drops descriptions over 262,144 bytes (Scan the pull request description for home paths and credentials #991's measurement).
  • The 2026-10-11 Scan the pull request description for home paths and credentials #991 measurements are recorded in the slot text.

Workflow change, called out: .github/workflows/catalog-freshness.yml, propose step.

• The change is a read-back of the description it just published. It uses the same gh and token, with no new permission or action.
• A failed read-back stops the step with its own message (the command center's FULL read at bf06685, P2-1). Before the fold it already exited 1 there, but silently.
• The tests' synthetic gh can keep or drop the description, fail the read-back with no output, or return a different description. Each failure case exits 1 without reporting the PR, on the create and update paths.
• zizmor 1.30.1 offline: no findings (3 suppressed, as before).
• tests.test_workflow_hardening: OK.
• The read-back has not run in CI yet; the first live check is the next propose run that opens a PR.

SOTA sources

• anthropics/claude-code@94506ff0 CHANGELOG.md:97-98: 2.1.299 idle compaction and "idleCompaction": false.
• https://code.claude.com/docs/en/settings-reference.md lines 2964-2983 (idleCompaction, default true), 5354-5360 and 5427-5443 (enableArtifact). Fetched 2026-10-15T11:39:24Z, sha256 8ba90434….
• https://code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks.md lines 1214, 3251 and 3283 (f5957ad6…); https://code.claude.com/docs/en/env-vars.md lines 323 and 450 (54351937…).
• cli/cli@fc4b137c (gh v2.102.0):
  • pkg/cmd/pr/create/create.go:336-341, 390 and pkg/cmd/pr/edit/edit.go:176-181: --body-file bytes become the description;
  • pkg/cmd/pr/view/view.go:84 and api/query_builder.go:314-317: body is a --json field.
• fcakyon/claude-codex-settings@216ec221 plugins/github-dev/skills/create-pr/SKILL.md:35, 40: write the description to a file, pass --body-file, read it back.

Evidence-class table

Local commands run

$ python3 -m unittest tests.test_native_practice_ledger_rows_tokeff_new tests.test_catalog_freshness_propose   # base 420452059
FAILED: e.g. AssertionError: 'idle compaction' not found; ValueError: 'pr view automation/catalog-freshness --json body --jq .body' is not in list
$ python3 -m unittest tests.test_native_practice_ledger_rows_tokeff_new tests.test_catalog_freshness_propose tests.test_native_practice_snapshot_provenance tests.test_workflow_hardening
Ran 224 tests; OK (skipped=1)
$ python3 -m unittest <the two new read-back tests> tests.test_native_practice_ledger_rows_tokeff_new   # fold, on exports of 9cf122558 and bf06685a
9cf122558: both read-back cases report the PR (0 != 1); bf06685a: 'could not be read back' not found in ''; the idleCompaction pin fails (declined) and the new rows' test errors (no rows)
$ python3 -m unittest tests.test_catalog_freshness_propose tests.test_workflow_hardening tests.test_native_practice_ledger_rows_tokeff_new   # b550860e
Ran 91 tests, OK; Ran 118 tests, OK (skipped=1); Ran 7 tests, OK
$ zizmor --offline .github/workflows/catalog-freshness.yml
No findings to report. (3 suppressed)
$ python3 scripts/validate.py
rc 0

Follow-ups

• The disposition readers' modules also ran in this environment: 25 tests.test_claude_usage_metrics errors are a missing prometheus_client module (environment only).
• enableArtifact is recorded for NativeStack2604 only; the other host was not read.
• Practice rows: --max-findings, marketplace autoUpdate and trust, the workflow model override, the effortLevel origin #1147 also appends to the pr-review-pre-cue notes. Whichever lands second keeps both sentences.
• From the command center's delta read at b550860 (PASS, 2026-10-15; /var/tmp/cc-cc-work/pr1169-micro/MICRO-delta-b550860e.md), three P3s ruled follow-ups, not a fold:
  • The ruled :line pins at catalogs/foundation/upstream-surface-dispositions.json:3740 and :3752 are not done and give no reason. The env-vars digest named here is 54351937, while the live page is 26d89d47.
  • The Local commands section names the wrong failing line at bf06685.
  • The row at catalogs/foundation/upstream-surface-dispositions.json:3726 is not-applicable where declined fits.
• From the GPT full read at b550860 (ACK, 2026-10-15; coordination/cc-reads-20261005/full1-pr1169/GPT-VERDICT-b550860e2.md), three P3s, follow-ups:
  • This body carried the digest prefix of an unpublished review record beside its path; removed in this body edit, keeping the path and date.
  • evidence/artifacts/claude-native-practice-20261009/verification.json:5925 and :6001 cite catalogs/foundation/upstream-surface-dispositions.json lines 1619-1628 for forceLoginMethod; the row inserted at :1498 moves that key to 1631-1640.
  • test_the_pages_render_the_rows (tests/test_native_practice_ledger_rows_tokeff_new.py:96) passes on the base: it should require each closure marker (C3-0006, A3-0031, B2-0004) on its page before checking agreement with the row.

Checklist

• GitHub Actions: no action added or re-pinned.
• Workflows: one step of catalog-freshness.yml changed, with no new permission; zizmor and tests.test_workflow_hardening pass.
• No secrets are printed, logged or committed.
• No new paid hosting, subscription or billing surface.
• Peer-owned untracked files and worktrees were preserved.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code