Reader release gates, reconciled — 2026-10-07

RDR-010. The fail-closed release report (npm run release:check, scripts/check-release-readiness.mjs) run on exact main 8ef95ec9, and the human gate records read against it. Nothing here weakens a gate; it says where each one stands. The owner has deferred witnesses until the product is provisionally ready, so the human gates are expected to be open.

How it was run

A worktree at 8ef95ec9, Node 22.23.2, ffmpeg 8.1.2. The run needs the content plane and the recitation audio present, as AGENTS.md says: npm run content:build, npm run audio:hydrate (restored from rise/audio-assets-opus at 1373a337), then npm run build so the built distribution is compared with the restored source. Before hydration the same report counted 1,941 voice issues; before the rebuild it counted the distribution as incomplete. Both were the checkout, not the release.

The report, verbatim

[PASS] RELEASE_NODE_SUPPORTED: Node 22.23.2 satisfies the pinned release toolchain.
[BLOCKED] RELEASE_CANONICAL_SHELF_SIZE: The public shelf has 0 certified works; release requires 10–15.
[BLOCKED] RELEASE_KEYSTONE_MEDITATIONS: Meditations is not release-admissible.
  - KEYSTONE_SOURCE_UNCERTIFIED: The exact source edition awaits human certification.
[BLOCKED] RELEASE_KEYSTONE_METAMORPHOSES: Metamorphoses is not release-admissible.
  - KEYSTONE_SOURCE_UNCERTIFIED: The exact source edition awaits human certification.
[BLOCKED] RELEASE_KEYSTONE_TINTERN: Tintern Abbey is not release-admissible.
  - KEYSTONE_SOURCE_UNCERTIFIED: The exact source edition awaits human certification.
[PASS] RELEASE_FFMPEG_AVAILABLE: ffmpeg version 8.1.2-full_build-www.gyan.dev
[BLOCKED] RELEASE_VOICE_ASSETS_INVALID: 779 source voice-pack integrity issue(s) must be resolved.
[PASS] RELEASE_VOICE_DISTRIBUTION_COMPLETE: The built distribution contains byte-identical copies of all 877 voice assets.
[HUMAN] RELEASE_ACOUSTIC_ACCEPTANCE: Review all 285 exact Keystone phrases with release:prepare-acoustic-review, resolve every defect, and record evidence.
[HUMAN] RELEASE_REAL_DEVICE_CERTIFICATION: Witnessed real-device evidence remains for: iphone-safari, android-chrome, desktop-chrome, desktop-safari, desktop-firefox.
[HUMAN] RELEASE_STRANGER_TESTING: Record at least three witnessed, unprompted corridor tests in release-evidence.json.
Result: 3 pass, 5 blocked, 3 human gates.

The 779 voice issues are all one kind, VOICE_REVIEW_ENTRY_MISSING (Meditations first): phrases with no acoustic-review entry. They are the acoustic gate seen from the asset side, not damaged audio; the built copies are byte-identical.

The human gate records

Record	State at 8ef95ec9	What closes it (protocol)
src/content/archive/certifications.json	0 certifications	§1: certify 10–15 exact editions, the three keystones among them
Acoustic review (release-evidence.json acousticReview)	none	§2: listen to all 285 keystone phrases, resolve defects, record the reviewer
release-evidence.json realDevices	none of the five devices	§3: witnessed runs on iPhone Safari, Android Chrome, desktop Chrome, Safari, Firefox
release-evidence.json strangerTesting	0 tests	at least three witnessed, unprompted corridor tests

What this means

The machine side of the Reader release passes on this candidate. Every remaining blocker is a human gate: certification, listening, devices and strangers. They belong in the final witness pass the owner has asked for, together with LIVE-004, RDR-007, RDR-008 and RDR-009, run on one exact release.

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Published from docs/experiments/RELEASE-GATES-2026-10-07.md. Edits made here are overwritten on the next push to main.