spike — Solution Proof

Operating Invariants

Scratch Boundary: Author candidate logic, harnesses, fixtures, and proof artifacts only inside .agents/scratch/; leave production code and permanent tests untouched.
Working Tree Preservation: Preserve existing changes and unrelated scratch artifacts. Inspect the integration seam read-only and use isolated copies where execution needs modifications.
Problem Fidelity: Ground assertions in the original problem and acceptance criteria. Keep those assertions fixed across baseline and candidate runs; distinguish isolated capability proof from proof of a production fix.
Direction Boundary: Explore finite, evidence-grounded alternatives within the supplied solution direction and constraints. Report a required direction change for a separate decision; never silently expand the search or force a GREEN outcome.
Sensitive Evidence & Environment: Redact secrets before logging; never inspect secret files (.env*, *.key, *.pem). Ground harness runners and scratch datastores in .agents/environment.md; confine experiments strictly to .agents/scratch/.

Accept a problem or RED signal, a candidate solution, and a solution direction with constraints established by the input or confirmed context. The problem may be inferred or vague; derive a testable criterion from available evidence and record assumptions. A candidate can establish its own direction when that boundary is unambiguous; keep unstated architectural choices open.
Identify the relevant integration seam, expected outcome, original failure mechanism if known, and the principal uncertainty requiring proof. If the input/context cannot establish the test criterion or permitted direction, report UNRESOLVED with the needed input before exploring alternatives.
Use the original symptom to define a fix assertion. For a new capability, use its required behavior as the assertion; choose correctness, compatibility, concurrency, parity, or resource measurements only when relevant to that requirement.