git:20261016.5e637bb to git:20261016.79d996f

---

name: context-check

description: "Inspect context drift and refresh selected source-backed documents under existing authorization."

argument-hint: "(none)"

---

# context-check

Inspect context drift or refresh selected source-backed documents. This includes

drift from a merge or external edit that commit-gate's Phase 5.5 auto-heal did

not cover, and an explicitly requested full refresh of initialized context.

This skill is NOT in the daily loop. Commit-gate auto-heal (Phase 5.5,

authorization for requested refresh; an audit-only request remains read-only.

<!-- catalog-compatibility-notice:start -->

> Compatibility route. Prefer `{{CMD:status}} drift` for new explicit usage. The retained entry

> and natural-language intent use this owner under

> {{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/includes/command-compatibility.md.

<!-- catalog-compatibility-notice:end -->

## Entry boundaries

Use this owner for a requested provenance drift audit, `{{CMD:status}} drift`, or

the explicit `{{CMD:context-check}}` compatibility entry. Explanation-only questions

and ordinary status snapshots remain read-only answers, not repair requests.

Report first for an audit-only request. A direct request to refresh selected

documents or the full project context supplies that selection; reuse the

existing authorization instead of asking again per document. Never change an

unselected derived document. This owner neither stages nor commits. Routine

commit-gate auto-heal is unchanged.

An **initialized refresh** belongs to this existing owner after an explicit

selection. It is separate from initial population: do not call the initialized

`{{CMD:create-context}}`/`{{CMD:init}} --brownfield` path, rerun the scaffolder,

clear `<!--INITIALIZED-->`, or repeat context finalization. An ordinary status

snapshot and the initial `{{CMD:status}} drift` report are read-only. A declined

refresh leaves every file unchanged.

## Pre-flight

Read these before computing drift:

1. `.codearbiter/.provenance/` — the per-doc provenance records. Load all

records via `load_provenance_dir` from

`{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/hooks/_provenancelib.py`.

2. `.codearbiter/code-map.md` — coarse concern map; read to orient on which

modules the stale docs govern.

## Flow

### Step 1 — Compute drift

Use `_provenancelib` helpers in this order:

1. `load_provenance_dir(root + "/.codearbiter/.provenance/")` — returns the

provenance map `{doc: record}`.

2. Collect all `drift_trigger: true` paths across all records.

3. `batch_hash(paths, runner)` — hash every existing path in one git call.

4. `compute_drift(provenance_map, current_hashes)` — returns a drift report

`{doc: [{path, kind}]}` for docs that have stale sources.

Alternatively reuse the same logic as `startup_drift_line` by calling it for

a human-readable summary, then inspecting `compute_drift` directly for detail.

The `entries`/Git-hash comparison above covers legacy v1 records only. For

every enrolled v2 document, call `assess_context_provenance` with the bounded

current source/target snapshot and an action-boundary snapshot probe. Inspect

its per-document states as well as aggregate coverage. A missing, corrupt or

unsupported record, incomplete acquisition, partial hash or unchecked identity

is unknown coverage, even when a neighboring v1 or v2 record is usable. Report

the usable records and the unknowns separately; never turn an empty legacy

drift report into a fresh verdict for v2. `v2_current` acknowledges matching

identities only. `semantic: unverified` and `verified_fresh: false` remain in

force: only actual evidence can support a narrower semantic claim;

changing hashes or choosing re-baseline does not perform that review.

Only if the relevant legacy drift report is empty and v2 coverage/identities

have been checked without unknowns may this audit report no stale identities.

That is not a claim that instruction-bearing facts are semantically verified.

Only a separately explicit full initialized refresh selection may proceed

without a stale-document list.

### Step 2 — Report stale docs

For each doc in the drift report, call `changed_scope(doc_provenance, drift)`

to list its drifted paths. Present a concise report before offering actions:

```

Stale docs (N):

<doc>: <path1>, <path2> (changed | missing)

...

```

Also present every enrolled v2 document's `v2_current`, `v2_stale` or unknown

state from Step 1. For `v2_stale`, derive a proposed affected scope from that

document's bounded evidence references and recheck the exact paths before

selection; the legacy `changed_scope` list cannot discover v2 drift. An

unknown state needs a bounded recovery/inspection, not an inferred fresh or

stale path. Do not offer an automatic write for an unbounded scope.

### Unsupported human content and owner reconciliation

An unsupported human Markdown layout, ambiguous duplicate anchor, unparseable

custom section or oversized document is a write refusal for that document, not a reason to erase it or abandon safe

task-time reading. An unrelated unknown section in an otherwise supported

document remains unowned and byte-identical during a supported field update.

Preserve exact bytes and report the specific unsupported or unowned span.

Use the existing applicable instructions under their actual precedence for the

current task; referencing those instructions unchanged does not create a new

normative rule or require a new approval. Keep observed upstream conventions

and accepted ADR references source-scoped when they do not already govern this

project. Surface a real conflict without silently displacing either source.

If the requested change would adopt or replace normative instructions, route

the proposal to its actual owner and obtain that owner's actual approval before

any supported bounded update. Missing or legacy v1 provenance may use explicit native `adopt` with current

evidence and selected supported spans, preserving the old provenance preimage.

An unsupported template still needs reconciliation through its actual owner or

a supported writer transition. Its refusal never authorizes raw Write/Edit fallback or a regex rewrite.

Task, question, audit, release and ADR files remain with their existing writers;

do not normalize, recreate or edit their history during context refresh.

### Step 3 — Selected initialized refresh

Use the user's selected documents and affected scope. If only an audit was

requested, offer reinspection, re-baseline and defer choices before writing.

A request for full refresh already selects all five content documents and all

six logical categories; do not repeat that question. Record the selection and

source paths, then inspect only what those claims need. Keep the initialized

marker and prior history. Full inspection accounts for all six categories;

incremental inspection does not claim a new full scan.

**re-scout / reinspect** — use direct bounded inspection or optional scoped

agents for the selected claims. The context-creation evidence and gap rules

apply. When structured reports help, `join_scout_reports` tracks their declared

coverage; a scoped result has `full_coverage: false`. The helper is not a

permission or containment check. A missing report can be replaced by direct

inspection, but failed or uninspected work never becomes evidence of absence.

Recheck changed source snapshots and resolve contradictions before their

claims are written. Unrelated gaps do not hold independent selected work.

If claims still hold, a selected owned-field metadata refresh may keep document

bytes identical when current evidence changes the v2 provenance. Missing

selection and unchanged proposed provenance refuse rather than claim a refresh.

Surface the proposed content and provenance pair, inspect its source bindings,

and apply within the selected authorization. Review consequential or disputed

claims independently when useful; a matching digest does not verify semantics.

**re-baseline** — the legacy v1 provenance choice may acknowledge a verified

cosmetic change through its existing owner, where applicable. For an enrolled

v2 content document, use only a selected owned field and the native bounded

update with new, validated source evidence and changed proposed provenance.

If no field is selected or the proposed pair is a true no-op, retain the stale

pair and defer that selection. Never directly write the v2 provenance or use

the legacy `rebaseline` helper as a fallback for it.

**full refresh** — use bounded inspection across all six categories and

synthesize all five content documents from current evidence. Preserve unknowns

and reconcile material user decisions under context-creation Phase 3–4. Do not

enter its Phase 6 lock for an already initialized repository.

For a selected whole-document refresh, prepare a UTF-8 draft inside the workspace

that retains user-owned content outside the requested change. The installed CLI

collects bounded source hashes and chooses create/adopt/update from the current

pair. Substitute the actual inspected repository-relative source paths; repeat

`--source` for each supporting file. For example:

```text

python "{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/hooks/init-codearbiter.py" --root "{{PROJECT_DIR}}" --context-draft "context-code-map-draft.md" --document code-map --source "src/main.py"

```

This retains an internal preview but does not change the content document or

provenance. Inspect the returned diff, then apply the exact returned reference

and digest:

```text

python "{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/hooks/init-codearbiter.py" --root "{{PROJECT_DIR}}" --context-apply "<preview_ref>" --preview-sha256 "<preview_sha256>"

```

The source list must support the draft; it is not an automatic semantic review.

The convenience path records `semantic_review: unreviewed`. Use typed field

previews below when only specific managed fields are selected.

For each selected document, send the typed preview through

`python "{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/hooks/init-codearbiter.py" --root <exact-root> --context-request <request-file>`.

The request uses `operation: preview` and a `preview` object. Native

`context-preview` supports `create` for a genuinely absent document, explicit

`adopt` for supported missing/v1 provenance, and `update` for a managed v2 pair.

Supply the exact expected document/provenance hashes, selected fields, typed

content and source evidence. Keep request files inside the workspace.

Inspect the returned diff and preserved content. Apply with `operation: apply`,

`preview_ref` and `preview_sha256` through the same bridge;

native `context-apply` rechecks the preview and current identities under its

lock and writes the selected document/provenance pair together. No approval

receipt, actor ticket or qualified scout profile is a prerequisite for ordinary

already-authorized refresh. This is compare-and-swap protection, not a second

permission system. A stale preview requires reinspection, never an overwrite.

After a lost response, inspect the transaction and retry its identical request

and operation ID or use native recovery; do not start a duplicate write.

Read back the committed pair and confirm `<!--INITIALIZED-->` remains for

`CONTEXT.md`. Keep unowned spans byte-identical and retain legacy provenance

history. Task, question, audit, release and ADR history stay with their actual

writers. Never hand-write a provenance record or bypass a refused unsupported

shape. A missing safe writer stops that write, not authorized task-time reads.

**defer** — do nothing for this doc now. The drift line will reappear at the

next SessionStart. Use when the change is in-progress and the doc update should

wait for a later commit.

After processing selections, summarize changed documents, deferred selections,

the declared coverage, and whether the run was full or incremental. Keep

unselected content, initialized state and prior history intact.

## Hard rule

This skill MUST NOT commit. If re-scout or re-baseline produces updated

`.codearbiter/.provenance/` records, those file changes ride the next

user-initiated commit through commit-gate normally. No staging, no commits here.