report · diff
git:20260617.92b5c65 to git:20260617.4c87ed1
45 added, 10 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: report
description: Summarize a run for a human — baseline val → best val → sealed test, the winning candidate, iterations spent, and pass^k. Use after finalize. Writes report.md and prints a compact JSON summary; the source of truth for "did this optimization actually work, and by how much".
component: phase
argument-hint: "--run-dir DIR"
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Bash
provides: [report]
needs: []
sources: [evo]
---
# report — did it work, and by how much?
The result of an optimization run is not "we made edits" — it is a defensible
answer to *did this actually work, and by how much.* report reads the run dir's
`baseline.json` and `final.json` and lays them side by side: where the seed
started (val), where the best candidate landed (val), and the single **held-out
test** number that actually counts. It is the source of truth a human reads to
decide whether to ship the optimized capability.
## Inputs / outputs (manifest tokens)
- - **needs:** *(reads the run dir directly — baseline.json / final.json / events)*.
- - **provides:** `report` — `report.md`, a compact JSON summary, and (by default) a
- single-file `dashboard.html`.
+ - **needs:** *(reads the run dir directly — baseline.json / final.json / events /
+ per-task rollouts / git store)*.
+ - **provides:** `report` — `report.md`, a compact JSON summary, a self-contained
+ `dashboard.html`, and an on-demand ANSI terminal report.
## How to read the three numbers
The honest reading is always **test vs baseline**, with val as a sanity check in
between:
- **test ≈ baseline** → no real gain. The val improvement was overfitting or
noise the gate let through. Do not ship; tighten `gate_k_se` or add trials.
- **test ≫ baseline** → genuine improvement on data the optimizer never saw. Ship.
- **val ≫ test** → the classic overfit signature: the optimizer learned the val
set, not the capability. The gap *is* the overfitting, quantified.
- **wide pass^k drop vs pass^1** → the gain is *fragile* across trials — the agent
sometimes succeeds but not reliably. A high mean with low pass^k is not a
dependable win (τ-bench's point).
Always report the **test stderr / CI**, not just the point: "0.71" and
"0.71 ± 0.08" support very different decisions.
## Dual-mode
This phase runs two ways from the **same** SKILL.md: standalone as the slash command `/cap-evolve:report` (the `argument-hint` shows its run.py args), and orchestrator-callable — `cap-evolve run` / the `orchestrate` skill invokes the same `scripts/run.py` headlessly and threads the run dir between phases.
## How to run
```
- python scripts/run.py --run-dir .capevolve/run_XXXX
+ python scripts/run.py --run-dir .capevolve/run_XXXX # JSON summary + report.md + dashboard.html
+ python scripts/run.py --run-dir .capevolve/run_XXXX --terminal # colored in-chat ANSI report (no browser)
+ python scripts/run.py --run-dir .capevolve/run_XXXX --no-dashboard
```
- Writes `report.md` and a single-file **`dashboard.html`** next to the run state
- (open it by double-clicking — it inlines the run data and loads ECharts from a
- CDN, so it works offline from a `file://` URL). The dashboard shows KPI cards, a
- baseline→val→test bar, score-over-iterations, a per-task reward heatmap, an
- accept/reject timeline, a frontier scatter, and a candidate leaderboard. Pass
- `--no-dashboard` to skip it.
+ ### The dashboard (`dashboard.html`)
+ A **fully self-contained** static file — inline CSS + vanilla JS + inline SVG, **no
+ CDN, no server, no network**. It is the single shareable artifact; open it by
+ double-clicking (works from `file://`). The builder first **reduces** the event log
+ (plus baseline/final, per-task rollouts, and the git store) into a candidate **graph
+ + run-summary**, then renders eight panels:
+
+ 1. **KPI strip** — best / baseline / %Δ-vs-baseline (abs Δ off a zero baseline),
+ counts by status (accepted/rejected/failed/seed), frontier, sealed test, wall
+ clock, cost split **optimizer vs runner**, tokens.
+ 2. **Cumulative-best stair** over a per-iteration scatter — running-best step
+ polyline, champion star, record-holder rings, hover tooltip (id/status/val/Δ).
+ 3. **tasks×iterations pass/fail heatmap** — rows sorted worst-first; reveals
+ regressions, persistent failures, and per-task specialists the mean hides; click
+ a cell for that task's feedback.
+ 4. **Diff vs parent** — prompt/skill/tools diff of a candidate against its parent
+ (split/unified toggle), computed from the candidate dirs.
+ 5. **Lineage tree** — parent→child DAG (merges = multi-parent), best-lineage spine
+ highlighted.
+ 6. **Cost / tokens / latency** — per-iteration + cumulative, split optimizer vs
+ runner, plus a cumulative-cost-vs-best-score plot.
+ 7. **Annotations & diagnoses** — gate reasons + diagnose/optimizer-error output.
+ 8. **Candidate leaderboard** + the git iteration-store log.
+
+ All values pass through a recursive **secret redactor** first, so a shared dashboard
+ never leaks `RITS_API_KEY` / `BOBSHELL_API_KEY` / `WATSONX_*` etc. Optional panels
+ **degrade silently** when per-task data, diffs, or finalize are missing.
+
+ ### The terminal report (`--terminal` / `--ansi`)
+ A colored cumulative-best chart + one-line KPI strip + top-N candidate table for
+ in-chat progress without opening the browser. Sized to the terminal width and
+ **CLAUDECODE-margin-aware** (subtracts ~6 cols when `CLAUDECODE=1` so it doesn't wrap
+ inside the tool-output frame). `--no-color` / `NO_COLOR=1` for plain text;
+ `--top-n N` sets the table size.
+
## What good vs bad looks like
- **Good:** test reported with its uncertainty and pass^k; the baseline→val→test
story told honestly, including a no-gain or overfit result when that is what
happened; a no-holdout run clearly labelled as a fit metric.
- **Bad:** reporting val as if it were the result; a bare point estimate with no
variance; spinning a `val ≫ test` overfit as success.
## References
- `references/concepts.md` — reading baseline/val/test honestly, the val-test gap
as overfitting, pass^k fragility, and reporting uncertainty, with sources.
+ - `references/dashboard.md` — the reduced graph + summary schema, what each of the
+ eight panels reads from, the `--terminal`/`--ansi` mode, secret redaction, and the
+ graceful-degradation rules.