SpaceAge Beta Roadblocks Report

2026-08-21: One Governed Next Release Action

Release ownership no longer requires interpreting several independent status reports. tools/get-next-release-action.ps1 combines candidate status and release-rights status into one read-only next action, with JSON output available for automation. Its fixed precedence prevents downstream packaging work from obscuring a more fundamental blocker: source state, release hygiene, JUCE identity, asset audit, clean-checkout proof, individual rights decisions, legal signoff, human readiness, evidence planning, binary identity, and packaging are evaluated in that order.

tools/test-next-release-action.ps1 proves all 11 decision branches and the full release-hygiene suite requires that contract. The current governed action is SOURCE_STATE: review and commit the 55 current source/evidence changes so a future candidate can identify one immutable commit. This workflow improvement does not advance any human evidence, asset-rights, or legal-signoff item.

2026-08-21: Applied Human Evidence Is Reconciled After Publication

Closing a readiness row from reviewed human evidence now ends with a separate reconciliation pass. The generated application receipt is checked against the resulting ledger hash, every closed PASS row, the candidate audit entry, the review-report hash, and every accepted evidence-artifact hash. If that verification fails during application, the ledger is restored and the published receipt is removed rather than leaving a false success record.

The focused contract test proves successful reconciliation, transaction rollback, replay rejection, and rejection after deliberate evidence tampering. The full release-hygiene suite passes with the verifier required. This improves the integrity of future human sign-off; it does not mark any outstanding human/environmental readiness check complete.

2026-08-21: Release-Rights Decision Queue

The 56 blocked embedded assets are now exposed as two ordered human decisions rather than 56 unrelated file failures. tools/get-next-release-rights-action.ps1 derives the next action directly from Resources/ReleaseAssetClearance.json; the current action is the 46-file first-party artwork attestation, followed by the ten-entry TG55 bank decision. Human-fillable worksheets now capture the required ownership, distribution, signer, date, and durable-evidence fields without weakening the existing hash-locked release gate. Release hygiene passes with this workflow enforced. The assets remain correctly blocked until real signed evidence is supplied.

2026-08-19 - Evidence Bound To Exact Standalone And VST3 Artifacts

Human evidence can no longer be collected against an ambiguous build label. Pack creation requires the exact standalone executable and VST3 bundle, records the executable's size and SHA-256, and records a deterministic inventory hash for every file in the VST3 bundle. Review requires those artifacts again and rejects a different source commit, substituted executable, changed VST3 file, or altered VST3 inventory.

Create a candidate pack:

.\tools\start-release-human-evidence.ps1 -CandidateId 'spaceage-beta-001' -BuildLabel 'SPACEAGE beta 001'

This guarded entry point refuses a dirty checkout, discovers the canonical standalone and VST3 artifacts, prints their exact SHA-256 identities, and passes those identities into the evidence manifest. Use new-release-human-evidence-pack.ps1 directly only when intentionally testing artifacts from a noncanonical staging path.

Review its completed results against the same artifacts:

.\tools\review-release-human-evidence-pack.ps1 -PackRoot '.\test-reports\human-evidence\spaceage-beta-001' -StandalonePath '<exact standalone exe>' -Vst3Path '<exact VST3 bundle>'

The contract test proves valid acceptance plus rejection of standalone and VST3 tampering. This closes an evidence-integrity weakness; it does not close any of the 22 remaining human/environmental readiness checks.

2026-08-18 - Candidate-Scoped Human Evidence Review

Human evidence packs now include a structured results.json contract in addition to the Markdown receipts. tools/review-release-human-evidence-pack.ps1 checks that the results belong to the same candidate and source commit, that all 22 governed IDs are present exactly once, and that each completed result has tester, time, environment, notes, and surviving evidence files. Every cited artifact is hashed into the generated review report.

To avoid searching the full runbook for the next unfinished check, run:

.\tools\get-next-release-human-evidence.ps1 -PackRoot '.\test-reports\human-evidence\spaceage-beta-001'

The command follows the governed phase order and reports the next unresolved ID, owner, required action, required evidence, receipt path, and a targeted result-recording command. Only an independently approved PASS is removed from the queue; FAIL and BLOCKED observations remain visible until resolved.

A PASS becomes eligible to close only when a named reviewer explicitly approves it and records a review time. FAIL, BLOCKED, incomplete, unsafe-path, and missing-artifact rows remain open. The reviewer writes JSON and Markdown reports but deliberately does not edit docs/Release_Readiness_Checklist.md; that final transition remains a visible release decision. The focused contract test proves one synthetic reviewed PASS is isolated from 21 incomplete rows and confirms ledgerUpdated=false.

2026-08-18 - Candidate-Scoped Human Evidence Packs

The 22 open readiness rows are now executable as one candidate-scoped evidence packet rather than a loose collection of prose instructions. tools/new-release-human-evidence-pack.ps1 generates a Markdown receipt for every governed open ID, an index, and a JSON manifest bound to the exact Git commit and optional build label. Every receipt carries common build, tester, audio, result, observation, artifact, and defect fields plus requirements specific to its evidence class.

The generator refuses to overwrite an existing candidate packet. Receipt-template hashes and a one-to-one plan inventory are recorded in the manifest. tools/test-release-human-evidence-pack.ps1 recreates the packet in a temporary location and verifies its identity, all governed IDs, every template hash, minimum field contracts, structured result template, complete index, and reviewer behavior. Release hygiene requires the generator, reviewer, and contract test.

This does not convert human observation into an automated PASS. It removes ambiguity from the remaining work: a tester can execute one exact form against one exact candidate, preserve FAIL or BLOCKED findings, and hand the result to a reviewer without silently changing the canonical release ledger.

2026-08-18 - Audio-Thread Mixer Routing Audit

The audio callback now captures channel mute, solo, output routing, and multi-output bus eligibility once per block. Rendering no longer reloads those parameters and revalidates bus state for every voice/sample or every channel/sample.

Verified after the change:

• MIXER_LANE_ROUTING: passed, including hard-left/hard-right opposite-meter silence.
• MIDI_RECORD_TIMING: passed the complete long-clip, first-measure, expression, multi-controller, sustain, disconnect, and timestamp matrix.
• PERFORMANCE_SMOKE: passed its real-time deadline, but the eight-pad synthesis load remains roughly 38-40% in the current synthetic scenario. This is acceptable for continued beta preparation, not yet evidence of world-class CPU efficiency.

Updated: 2026-08-12

2026-08-12 - Bounded Polyphony Now De-Clicks Unavoidable Overflow

The 48-voice main pool remains bounded, but a stolen audible voice now completes a six-millisecond fade through a fixed-capacity retirement bank and the normal Mixer/send path. Same-sample note bursts use a deterministic start serial, never-rendered notes cannot consume retirement capacity, and SoundFont steals immediately return their scarce prepared playback instance before starting voice 49.

The focused gate passes all 13 native engines, exact 288-sample retirement, full 96-voice rendered overlap on Redshift, Moonshadow, Lunacy, and TG-55, an additional 16-note same-sample burst, and SoundFont voice 49. Broader gates pass for real-time asset retirement, SoundFont round-trip and missing-asset repair, hostile resources, audio safety, MIDI closeout, eight CPU workloads at 3.54-6.82% of the real-time window, and all 619 factory presets with zero audio failures.

This closes the automated polyphony-overflow roadblock. Human listening on real hardware remains necessary for the musical character of extremely dense note bursts. No customer build was produced in this pass.

2026-08-12 - Every Factory Preset Must Speak And Retire

The release matrix now renders all 619 factory presets through the production audio callback at 48 kHz. Each preset must recall correctly, start a voice, produce sustained audible energy rather than a stray numerical click, remain finite and bounded with the Master limiter disabled, release naturally within its own envelope deadline, and leave a silent tail. The proof is deterministic for noise-bearing engines. The current sweep has zero failures; Lunacy | Pluck | Silent Pluck is the quietest measured preset at 0.0879274 peak, Hat Lab | Trash Lid is the hottest at 0.855658 peak, and Moonshadow | Low Resonant Drone has the longest release at 679 blocks.

The shared 48-voice allocator also now ranks every engine by actual post-envelope output instead of a TG-55-only field. Delayed future notes are retired before audible music, then releasing voices, then the quietest active voice. The deterministic overflow regression fills the pool and forces voice 49 across all 13 native engines; the audible target remains alive with finite, continuous output in every case.

These gates prove software behavior, not artistic excellence. Human beta still owns preset usefulness, perceived loudness balance, timbral quality, and the feel of extreme real-world performances.

2026-08-12 - Realtime Arrangement State Is One Generation Per Audio Block

Chain mapping, lane mute/solo decisions, routing, automation ownership, and clip traversal now consume one immutable Sequencer Playback Snapshot acquired at the audio-block boundary. An edit published while a block is rendering cannot leak halfway into that block; the following block receives the new generation. The deterministic barrier regression proves old/new generation isolation alongside zero callback locks, allocations, or snapshot destruction.

Redshift's responsive Voice and Motion pages also gained an executable label-clearance contract. Every native synth editor is checked at 1800x1000 and 1100x800; all 628 visible parameter controls remain contained, accessible, large enough to operate, and free of label/control collisions. The exact 619-preset inventory, runtime fingerprint, provenance, reports, and release hygiene are synchronized at 4d2ddc400437c5d6.

No customer build was produced in this pass. Human beta still owns musical taste, mixed-DPI appearance, physical MIDI, installer, named-host, and legal/asset receipts.

2026-08-11 - Native Tonal Range And Polyphony Have Direct Proof

The factory-instrument gate now tests every native tonal engine at low, middle, and high notes and as a three-note chord. Single notes must retain their expected pitch within 35 cents; every profile must remain audible, finite, bounded, and release completely. The chord profile must start three concurrent voices.

The first run caught Lunacy's low-register generated grains producing a dominant sideband roughly one semitone flat. Their oscillator phase is now continuous across overlapping grain windows. This closes the broader software-proof gap where a synth could pass at A4 while failing elsewhere on the keyboard or silently dropping chord tones. Human musical review remains required because continuity and tuning tests cannot decide whether a register sounds beautiful.

No customer build was produced in this pass.

2026-08-11 - Ordinary Synth Knob Travel Is Measurably Audible

The native-synth quality gate now measures moderate control movements as well as endpoint differences. Representative controls across Propulsion 1, Liftoff, Glass Moon, Moonshadow, Lunacy, Physical Model, and TG-55 all change rendered audio over normal working spans. This guards against a customer turning a knob through most of its travel and hearing little or nothing even though the underlying parameter is technically wired.

The gate complements, rather than replaces, human sound-design QA. Human beta still needs to judge tactile scaling, musical usefulness, register behavior, patch loudness, and whether any advanced control belongs behind a simpler surface. No customer build was produced in this pass.

2026-08-11 - Native Synth Control Variety Has Measured Audio Proof

The seven principal native tonal engines now pass four independent audible-control paths apiece in addition to shared-filter, safe-default, UI, Undo/Redo, and accessibility checks. The newest paths cover Propulsion pulse width, Liftoff table motion, Glass Moon operator balance, Moonshadow spectral tilt, Lunacy texture, Physical Model tension, and TG-55 motion. Factory preset safety remains green across all 619 presets with fingerprint 4d2ddc400437c5d6; audio continuity and the full MIDI closeout gate also pass.

This removes another automated uncertainty but does not replace human musical judgment. Beta listening still needs to evaluate the usefulness and feel of each control over ordinary patch-design ranges, and release hygiene remains intentionally blocked by 15 human/legal shipping assets. No customer build was produced in this pass.

2026-08-11 - Automated Launch Surface Converged

The current Release test binary passes all 79/79 named automated convergence gates. The complete broad application self-test also passes independently after its audio fixtures were isolated so long-release voices cannot contaminate later measurements. Final receipts are reports/release-convergence-named-green-20260811.out and reports/broad-selftest-launch-readiness-green-20260811.out.

This is a meaningful engineering closeout, not a declaration that SpaceAge is ready to ship. The fixed 72-check release ledger still requires its named human, hardware, legal, clean-machine, installer, and listening evidence. Release hygiene continues to fail closed while 15 shipping assets remain blocked. No customer build was produced in this pass.

2026-08-11 - Library Starting Points Enter Canonical Convergence

The nine production Library Starting Point callbacks are now a named release gate rather than an optional focused test. The contract audits 528 generated pad slots, expected engine/model ownership, finite parameter state, audible finite output, and cleanup between collections. This protects the customer promise that a Starting Point produces a usable sound rather than merely changing a label.

The integration also exposed an older packaging fingerprint that disagreed with the live 619-preset runtime bank. Runtime and the independent factory safety sweep agree on 4d2ddc400437c5d6; the machine inventory, hygiene gate, provenance, and current release evidence now use that value. Historical dated receipts retain their original value. Human musical-quality and rights review remain open; no customer build was produced.

2026-08-10 - Native Patch Recall Is Deterministic

Native patch loading now validates the complete known parameter set before changing the active Instrument. Values omitted by older or partial patch files recall to each control's declared factory default instead of inheriting the previously auditioned sound. Malformed and out-of-range values are refused atomically, preserving both the sounding state and visible patch identity.

The shared A-D slope control is now registered, persisted, and consumed by the audible decay envelope. Focused proof verifies every advertised native patch field resolves to a registered parameter, opposite slope extremes produce a substantial measured audio difference, save/reopen preserves the slope, and all voices remain finite and releasable. INSTRUMENT_PATCH_LIFECYCLE, SOUNDFONT, SYNTH_CONTROL_QUALITY, PAD_VAULT_TRANSACTION, MIDI_CLOSEOUT, and MIDI_HEALTH pass. Human beta should judge the musical feel of the slope range and confirm older personal patches recall sensibly; no customer build was produced.

2026-08-08 - Automation Undo/Redo Now Reconciles Live Output

Full-state Undo and Redo now refresh the union of Automation rows that existed before and after restoration. The stored curve, internal controller state, and routed result therefore move together when a Clip Local override is deleted, restored, or deleted again. Focused proof passes AUTOMATION_OWNERSHIP; neighboring AUTOMATION_RESTORE, AUTOMATION_EDITOR_LAYOUT, and MIDI_CLOSEOUT gates also pass.

The Automation popup now retains whole-row deletion feedback after its row refresh, uses the established readable font floor for remaining graph annotations, and bounds itself to the active display with scroll access when necessary. Human beta still needs to judge visual comfort at non-default Windows scaling and confirm layered fallback on real external hardware; no customer build was produced in this pass.

2026-08-08 - Layered Automation Deletion Is Live And Truthful

Automation deletion now resolves the remaining owner stack instead of unconditionally resetting the controller. Removing a Clip Local override immediately reveals Lane Local or Shared Pattern data; removing Lane Local reveals the active clip's Clip Local value when present, otherwise Shared Pattern. The same scoped value is sent to internal playback and the hardware route. A final-owner deletion still returns the controller to its neutral value.

Focused proof passes AUTOMATION_OWNERSHIP, including shared, clip, and lane remapping, layered deletion fallback, neutral cleanup, cross-lane isolation, external-only routing, and ownerless fallback. The full MIDI_CLOSEOUT gate also passes. Human beta still needs to confirm that drawing, deleting, Undo/Redo, and listening feel immediate in the production Automation popup.

This document summarizes the current blockers between the present development state and a responsible beta build. It is intentionally stricter than "the app launches" because beta users will judge trust, workflow, audio stability, and recoverability immediately.

2026-08-10 - Every Open Roadblock Has A Named Receipt

The remaining readiness work is now governed by Resources/ReleaseHumanEvidencePlan.json. Its 22 entries match the 22 open release-ledger IDs exactly and assign an owner, executable test action, and required receipt to each item. The plan groups the work into eleven honest evidence classes: physical MIDI, external interchange, asset-backed instruments, human UI, first-run workflow, clean-machine behavior, named-host behavior, support workflow, rights, source recovery, and public claims.

This does not inflate the release score. It prevents open human work from becoming vague, forgotten, or incorrectly closed by an automated substitute.

Current Readiness Snapshot

2026-08-06 - SpaceAge-Owned Dialog Contract

U07-A removes all six remaining juce::NativeMessageBox calls from customer workflows and routes those notices through one JUCE AlertWindow helper. Bulk sample-load results, Hardware Passport sync-policy failures, hardware-recall readiness/results, and MIDI RPN/NRPN setup-card failures now stay inside SpaceAge's look-and-feel path instead of opening an unrelated Windows-native box. The release gate refuses any future NativeMessageBox reintroduction and requires the shared dialog helper plus its visible OK action.

This narrows U07 at the software-contract level. Human beta still judges the complete set of tooltips, confirmations, warnings, destructive-action wording, keyboard dismissal, and plain-language clarity before the row can close.

2026-08-06 - Beta Readiness Is Visible In Settings

Sequencer Settings now includes a direct BETA READINESS doorway backed by the existing authoritative MidiProjectHealthSummary::betaReadinessGate() model. The panel reports the current ready/blocked state, open-versus-total count, all eight blocker categories, each category's evidence detail, and its specific next action. COPY FULL CHECKLIST copies the complete structured checklist, while MIDI HEALTH opens the existing diagnostic surface without changing MIDI, routing, audio, hardware, or project state.

This improves release coordination without pretending automated evidence closes human work. The root Settings contract now audits 40 visible controls, and canonical Release convergence passes 63/63 named automated gates. The remaining open categories still require human/device evidence: real MIDI hardware, instrument listening, whole-app visual QA, Arrangement/Automation hands-on workflows, save/load/recovery on release conditions, rendered-file listening and inspection, and packaging/legal signoff.

The MIDI automated backend is strong: the focused fast gate currently passes MIDI_HEALTH, MIDI_CLOSEOUT, MIDI_PROTOCOL, AUTOMATION_OWNERSHIP, and AUTOMATION_RESTORE. That means the model-level MIDI contracts, automation ownership, restore identity, and closeout reporting are guarded well enough to continue building on them.

The July 30 roadblock pass also corrected fresh lane ownership allocation, full-arrangement WAV end/tail behavior, explicit Instrument Bay terminology, and stale Yamaha editor/readiness test assumptions. A focused Release performance smoke test now passes at a median 1174.11 ms for 2133.33 ms of audio (55.04% real-time load) with eight active pads and effects. This is a useful baseline, not a universal CPU guarantee; deliberately abusive rapid voice accumulation still needs optimization work.

Release convergence now also contains a representative project round-trip gate. It restores tempo, Arrangement loop, Section form markers, lane name/type/Instrument/Mixer/MIDI routing, Mixer gain/pan, clip placement, a 128-step explicit pattern boundary, detailed Chord Engine strum/arp state, note release velocity/probability/ratchets, and automation without creating Undo history. The gate exposed and fixed three persistence defects: missing Arrangement-loop serialization, missing note release velocity, and long explicit pattern lengths collapsing to the latest note/chord endpoint.

Lane-owned Instrument reassignment no longer forks or rewrites MIDI patterns. The Arranger contract proves private and shared patterns remain portable while playback follows each owning lane's Instrument. This replaces a bridge-era workaround with the final user model: lane equals performer, pattern equals score.

Canonical Release convergence now passes 63/63 named automated gates on 2026-08-04. Receipt: reports/release-convergence-u01-library-layout-20260804.out. Coverage includes standalone launch, the complete application self-test, MIDI protocol/readiness, controller ownership, long-clip recording, import/export, Arrangement routing and transport, all registered internal engines, native patch lifecycle and control quality, all 619 customer-visible factory presets, Drum Lab Flux/render, 80-source stress, the strengthened three-preset SoundFont workstation contract, SoundFont/Quasar repair, the production Quasar capture/package builder, hostile resource validation, replacement isolation, and same-project reload after external asset corruption, Mixer routing/persistence, Panic/Reset/limiter continuity, shared effects, complete project lifecycle, realtime asset retirement, automation ownership, minimum-size Settings containment, conditional Arrangement overview geometry, rendered Arrangement lane-state distinction, primary-page ownership, shared-effect enable-state distinction, Effects detail containment, the production Automation editor in both compact and focused modes, responsive Mixer/Master containment, startup-choice/loading-card containment, and responsive Library hierarchy/action-grid containment. Installer and clean-machine launch remain separate release proofs.

That is not the same thing as a shippable beta. Beta readiness still needs human/device proof, audio-engine confidence, GUI cleanup, packaging, and release hygiene.

2026-08-04 Automation Editor Geometry Contract Added

U01-B opens MIDI Expression/Automation through the production Settings callback and inspects the real popup rather than a copied layout model. It verifies 29 visible controls stay contained and usable, the oversized editor retains its natural dimensions inside the bounded scrolling shell, compact mode retains both its row list and graph, focused ROW VIEW gives the graph the intended space, and both Escape and X remain valid dismissal paths.

The first focused run exposed a real defect: focused mode removed the row-list height from layout calculations but still painted its header and rows below the graph. Focused mode now paints only the selected-lane scope and insert panel. This strengthens U01/U04 evidence without closing either human roadblock; readability, target comfort, scroll feel, and Windows scaling still require eyes and hands.

2026-08-04 Mixer And Startup Geometry Contracts Added

U01-C opens the production Mixer at roomy and minimum supported viewports and audits 2,306 controls across all strip banks, hidden pages, and the Master section. It exposed two genuine minimum-size failures: sixteen strips were being compressed to roughly 41 pixels each, and the bottom Master controls collapsed to one or zero pixels. Mixer strips now retain an 80-pixel readable minimum and use horizontal scrolling when necessary; the Master column switches to a compact vertical rhythm at the minimum height.

U01-D opens the real startup choice panel and audits all 20 controls, including load-last, blank, project-file, template, recovery, and loading-feedback surfaces. The gate exposed a painted card that was smaller than the layout card, allowing valid controls to sit outside the visible design boundary. Painting and layout now use the same responsive card geometry. Human beta still judges typography, reassurance, progress feel, and Windows scaling.

2026-08-04 Library Hierarchy And Responsive Action Grids Added

U01-E opens the production Library at 1800x1000 and the supported minimum 1100x800, then audits 58 controls for containment, usable size, and pairwise non-overlap. The previous fixed row attempted to place nine file actions beside one another and the full vertical stack could outgrow the minimum viewport. The Library now keeps Save Kit / Project as a centered hero action while file management, bank management, recovery, starting points, and generated-project actions use responsive grids.

The contract protects the intended decision order without pretending rectangle validity proves polish. Human beta still judges wording, visual hierarchy, starfield distraction, Windows scaling, and whether the grouped actions are immediately understandable.

2026-08-04 Settings Containment Strengthened

U04-A now constructs and resizes the real Sequencer Settings component inside the supported 1100x800 viewport. It checks all 39 visible root controls for containment and every button for a usable minimum hit target. The gate exposed a five-button MIDI doorway row whose fixed widths exceeded the panel; all four doorway rows now divide their available width responsively. The expanded contract also proves oversized 1320x940 content remains fully reachable inside a bounded 1040x740 scrollable shell.

All 14 deeper destinations now use that shell: MIDI Input, MIDI Health, Beta Readiness, MIDI Timing, Setup Guide, MIDI Maps/Learn, MIDI Protocol, MIDI Sync, MIDI Output, MIDI Hardware, SysEx Vault, MIDI Expression/Automation, MIDI Patch, and Shortcuts. U04-B presses each production doorway at 1100x800, requires exactly one distinct destination, and verifies the bounded shell plus Escape path. This narrows the UI roadblock but does not close U04. Human beta must still verify scrolling feel, text comfort, keyboard dismissal, and Windows display-scaling behavior.

2026-08-10 - Settings Doorways Now Prove Their Destinations

The prior Settings contract proved root geometry and a generic oversized scrolling shell, but a correctly sized button could still have a missing callback, open the wrong panel, launch duplicate content, or work only on its first invocation after moving captured state. U04-B now activates the 14 real production destination buttons twice in opposing order at the minimum supported window. Every button must be visible, enabled, correctly labeled, at least 44x24, and wired to exactly one destination on both passes. Every destination must retain the same distinct component identity, keep its natural size inside the bounded Settings shell, and accept Escape. The full navigation sweep must leave serialized project state byte-for-byte unchanged.

Fresh SETTINGS_DESTINATION_REACHABILITY reports 28/28 launches and projectStateCold=1. SETTINGS_ROOT_LAYOUT, PRIMARY_UI_VISUAL_STATE, AUTOMATION_EDITOR_LAYOUT, and complete MIDI_CLOSEOUT gates also pass. This remains software evidence; human beta still owns readability, scrolling comfort, click-away behavior, focus order, and Windows scaling judgment.

2026-08-04 Arrangement Overview Contract Added

U05-A drives the real FIT button behavior plus O, Ctrl+O, and Shift+4. In a roomy four-lane project, all lanes remain at their full 88-pixel height. At the 16-lane limit, the viewport computes the maximum fitting 35-pixel lane height rather than applying a fixed compact size. Both layouts fit the complete authored song width and return to the timeline origin.

This removes a software ambiguity behind the overview shortcut, but it does not close U05. Human beta still needs to judge animation smoothness, context preservation, readability at the compressed height, zoom centering, hand-pan feel, and behavior on supported Windows displays.

2026-08-04 Arrangement Lane State Truth Added

U02-A renders the real Arrangement canvas, selects a lane through production state, and proves the selected badge is visibly different from its neutral form. The same contract drives the MIDI input arm state from ARM to LIVE IN and verifies that Mute and Solo each publish an independent active state.

U02-B drives every public top-level page through the production navigation path and proves exactly one page owns the active and visible state. PADS and SEQUENCERS keep their note-input blue identity but now brighten when active; ARRANGER, MIXER, EFFECTS, and LIBRARY use a separate active colour rather than rewriting their idle colour. The same contract proves all eight shared-effect enable controls publish visibly distinct active and inactive states.

U02-C proves the Arrangement record action has four honest states at roomy and minimum supported viewports: disabled ARM LANE, blue ready REC, amber pending COUNT, and dark-orange active REC IN. It also removes the stale hidden-selector path that could make a visually cleared lane remain the effective recording target.

This closes the known software ambiguity around page tabs, shared-effect toggles, recording/count-in feedback, and disabled record state, but not the entire U02 roadblock. Human beta still needs to judge colour comfort, readability, and Windows display scaling.

2026-08-04 SoundFont Software Contract Strengthened

I04-A now uses a generated moderate-size, three-preset SF2 rather than a one-preset parsing smoke test. It proves distinct audio from all three programs, first/middle/last selection, negative and positive index clamping, isolated low-pass response, independent attack/decay/sustain/release response, trigger-mode and ADSR/filter persistence, project reopen, typed missing-file reporting, exact relink, stale-receipt rejection, and deterministic restored-audio metrics through a private lane Instrument. Focused receipt: reports/i04-soundfont-controls-final-20260804.out.

I04 remains open at the top level because a synthetic bank cannot establish the loading feel, memory/CPU behavior, controller/Panic response, or musical quality of a multi-gigabyte General MIDI bank. The remaining evidence is one release-candidate run with Shane's large GM SoundFont and one independently authored bank, with machine/audio settings recorded.

2026-08-02 Lane Routing Closure

Lane Mixer reassignment is now one production transaction rather than a metadata-only edit. It updates the lane, normalized MIDI route, armed live-input Mixer destination, Piano Roll audition context, visible lane badge, status receipt, playback snapshot, and saved project together. Focused Release proof renders through the reassigned channel and also reopens a complete lane MIDI policy created through the customer routing-panel callbacks, including input channel/device, fixed output channel/device, route target, Hardware Passport, Mixer channel, restored controls, and an unchanged customer-facing summary.

This closes release checks L04 and L05 at the software-contract level. Physical hardware latency, device reconnect, and real external-audio confirmation remain under the MIDI hardware roadblock; the routing model itself no longer depends on those human tests to stay internally coherent.

Release check L06 is also closed at the software-contract level. Drum identity no longer depends on being lane zero: playback, clip editing, Piano Roll/Drum Composer choice, previews, ghost notes, pattern reassignment, variants, and save/reopen all consult the owning lane type. A private Instrument can occupy lane zero while Drum lanes remain pad-bank based elsewhere without either source contaminating the other.

Release checks L07 and A04 are closed at the software-contract level. CLONE now creates another placement linked to the same notes, chords, and shared-pattern automation without consuming an empty pattern; its new clip identity owns an independent copy of clip-local automation. VARIANT forks the complete musical pattern into a new independent pattern while retaining lane, Instrument, Mixer, MIDI route, patch, and clip-local state. Both relationships survive real project save/reopen, and subsequent edits prove the linked and independent behaviors rather than merely checking labels.

Primary Roadblocks

1. Real MIDI Hardware Proof

Automated MIDI gates pass, but external hardware truth still needs saved evidence receipts.

Remaining proof:

• Simultaneous mioXL USB and DIN controller latency comparison.
• Real monitoring and recording feel checks.
• Disconnect/reconnect while notes, sustain, clock, and SysEx are active.
• Panic/Stop/reroute soak on real hardware.
• Hardware Passport evidence for any public claims about external synth/module behavior.

Beta decision: a private beta can proceed with hardware features marked beta/experimental, but public MIDI claims should stay conservative until these receipts exist.

2. Instrument And Sampler Audio QA

Automated gates now prove every registered self-contained engine produces non-silent finite audio and retires its voices. Reusable native Instruments have a named Save/Load/readout/dirty-state contract, and all three Drum Labs produce verified WAV files through their production renderer. A playable beta still needs a human pass across the actual user workflow.

Remaining proof:

• Every synth/lab/sampler loads, plays, releases, and survives Stop/Panic.
• Preset names, categories, initial patches, and human-facing save/load flow feel coherent per engine; complete 619-preset recall, parameter safety, voice retirement, and Mixer ownership are already green.
• SoundFont and Quasar pass with real fixture assets.
• Target Windows machines confirm headroom for CPU-heavy engines and large user assets; Redshift, five-unison Propulsion, four-unison Liftoff, Glass Moon, Moonshadow, Lunacy, SoundFont, and Quasar are already green in the deterministic Release workload.
• Drum Lab renders sound useful, and Flux feels intentional rather than arbitrary across mild and extreme ranges; its bounds, persistence, reset, and file output are already green.

Beta decision: do not ship until the main internal instruments can make music without stuck notes, surprise routing, or obvious CPU traps.

Automated progress: the full-song export regression now proves a final-step event is audible, exports exactly one arrangement pass, and renders a stopped five-second effects tail without restarting the song.

3. Instrument Bay / Lane Independence Human Confirmation

The software contract is closed: Instrument lanes own private source instances, Drum lanes retain the Pad/MPC model, maximum-lane independence passes, lane Mixer/MIDI routes persist, and replacement does not rewrite the score. Human confirmation remains because this distinction must also feel obvious.

Remaining proof:

• New Instrument and Drum lane choices read clearly without prior knowledge.
• Lane reassignment feedback, badges, editor launch, and Mixer labels make the ownership model self-teaching.
• A musician can explain after one use why Drum lanes expose Pads while Instrument lanes do not.

Beta decision: backend finalization is no longer a blocker; one complete hands-on Instrument/Drum workflow session remains required before broad beta.

4. UI Clipping, Readability, And Popup Polish

Several docs still flag clipped text, crowded controls, inconsistent knob spacing, and dense panels. A beta does not need final skinning, but it cannot look careless.

Remaining proof:

• No hidden/cut-off labels in Settings, MIDI Hardware, Automation popups, Synth Engine pages, Effects pages, or channel strip subpanels.
• Native Synth Engine pages now pass automated bounds/readout/interaction inspection across 295 visible controls, including every Redshift and Glass Moon subpage; human review must still judge comfort at supported Windows scaling.
• Synth knobs now use one slow-for-precision / fast-for-range interaction policy and one-drag Undo; human review must confirm the feel, while Mixer faders remain a separate hands-on check.
• Ordinary callouts now share tested Esc dismissal and JUCE click-away behavior; human review remains for screen-reader focus and supported Windows display scaling.
• MIDI Health/Launch Proof UI fields are rendered from the new structured handoff instead of raw report strings.

Beta decision: visual polish can continue after beta, but clipping and unreadable controls are beta blockers.

5. Arrangement And Automation UX Confidence

Arrangement and Automation are central to the product promise. The backend has strong guards, but the visible workflow still needs human confirmation.

Remaining proof:

• Add/clone/variant/resize/move/paste behave predictably at clip boundaries.
• FIT/O overview behavior is intuitive and does not over-compress lanes unnecessarily.
• Automation edits take effect in real time and deleted automation is audibly gone.
• Automation lanes are discoverable and readable in the GUI.
• Loop-start playback and loop-region behavior are dependable with Spacebar and transport buttons.

Beta decision: private beta can tolerate minor UI roughness, but not data-loss, hidden automation, or inconsistent playback start behavior.

6. Save/Load, Recovery, And Project Trust

The app needs to protect users from losing work even in beta.

Automated progress (2026-07-30): P01-A now proves Blank Project is a deterministic lifecycle boundary. A deliberately contaminated project containing musical data, long pattern state, private Instrument metadata, Flux, missing SoundFont/Quasar paths, MIDI mappings, Hardware Passports, SysEx, transport, and recording state resets to the canonical project and survives a blank save/load round trip. Recovery detection now recognizes the actual 64-step default Section and counts SoundFont/Quasar references, so a truly blank project is not autosaved while an asset-only project is not silently discarded.

Automated closure (2026-08-03): P02-P03-A now proves production-path project adoption, exact representative state, independent Save As, correct Save Over targeting, reopen after source deletion and working-directory change, atomic failed-load isolation, project-boundary Undo/Redo clearing, exact disabled-effect restoration, relative-path refusal, and repair receipts for existing but undecodable audio. P02 and P03 are closed at the software-contract level.

P06-A now closes the software feedback contract: every covered load route acknowledges immediately; progress is honestly indeterminate; startup choices and keyboard commands cannot launch conflicting work; delayed completion cannot close a newer loading generation; status receipts remain readable; and transiently unavailable remembered paths are preserved. Archive import now carries feedback through the activation handoff. The canonical Release convergence suite passes 40/40 in reports/p06-project-load-feedback-convergence-20260803.out.

P04-C and P04-D now close the recovery software contract. Useful parameter-only, duration-only, routing-only, Flux-only, and MIDI-only changes are recoverable; startup visibly offers the newest usable snapshot with a human timestamp and summary; startup and Library use the same exact restore path; recovered work is explicitly unsaved and preserves the deliberate Last Project preference; malformed recovery is atomic; and Save As creates an independent project. Hosted editors no longer pollute standalone recovery, unchanged snapshots no longer evict useful history, fallback storage remains discoverable, and delayed callbacks are generation-guarded.

Verification receipts: all 14 focused Release convergence gates pass in blank-project-convergence-20260730.out, and the complete monolithic Release self-test passes after the lifecycle changes in blank-project-broad-selftest-20260730.out.

Remaining proof:

• Save, Save As, Load Last, Load Project File, and recovery chooser wording/cancellation are clear under human interaction.
• Large real SoundFont and Quasar packages reopen and relink comfortably on a musician's machine.
• Force-termination recovery wording, startup readability, and restore-as-unsaved behavior need one real Windows desktop observation.
• A recovered session whose personal SoundFont, Quasar, or sample library moved needs one real relink-and-save observation.
• Permission-denied and full-disk save failures need human-visible Windows wording checks.

Beta decision: Save/Save As, recovery, project-load feedback, and missing-asset repair software integrity are no longer known blockers. Forced-interruption presentation, real-library relinking feel, and large synchronous-load feel remain human release observations before musicians trust important work to the beta.

P07-C now closes the deterministic repair contract across velocity layers, one-shots, loop tracks, SoundFonts, and Quasar packages in one project. Folder repair accepts only one exact match, leaves duplicate filenames unresolved, deduplicates the two legitimate discovery paths to one Quasar package, rejects stale chooser receipts, restores finite audio, and survives an explicit save/reopen. Customer status now says that the repaired project must be saved. Canonical Release convergence passes 41/41 in reports/p07-missing-asset-repair-convergence-20260803.out. Human QA still must exercise real libraries, removable drives, cancelled choosers, and the readability of partial-repair messages.

7. Export/Render Proof

Rendering needs confidence before beta users depend on it.

Remaining proof:

• Render entire song exports the full arrangement, not just early clips.
• Stems are lane/mixer predictable.
• Export progress is visible.
• MIDI export behavior is documented: selected clips vs whole arrangement vs patterns.

Beta decision: full-song and lane-audio export must be reliable for beta.

Implementation progress (2026-08-02): full-arrangement WAV export and lane-owned audio-stem packages now have focused automated gates. Full render clears Arrangement and step loops, renders the timeline once from step zero, stops transport at the timeline boundary, and renders the five-second effects tail without restarting the song. Lane stems are aligned, isolated before Mixer processing, named from stable lane identity, described by a manifest, staged atomically, cancellable, and explicit about muted, solo-excluded, empty, or external-only silence. Human listening and external-DAW alignment remain open.

8. Packaging, Legal, And Release Hygiene

A beta needs a clean artifact, not a dev folder adventure.

Remaining proof:

• Clean release build from checkout.
• Installer/package launches on a clean Windows machine.
• Third-party license file is complete and current.
• Splash/resources are embedded safely.
• Build output folder is cleaned and current builds are easy to find.
• Crash logs/support reports exist or at least produce actionable diagnostics.

Beta decision: internal testing can use loose builds; outside beta needs packaging discipline.

R05 automation was strengthened on 2026-08-04. The repository now has a machine-readable dependency/license manifest covering eleven integrated dependency families and fourteen hash-locked evidence artifacts. Every embedded asset is separately hash-locked to provenance evidence. The local JUCE tree has an upstream-verified 4,249-file fingerprint and the fallback is pinned to the same reviewed commit. Release hygiene rejects changed assets/notices, missing evidence, missing dependency records, or an unregistered Source/ThirdParty file. Public packaging requires a clean exact commit and its detached convergence receipt, completed human signoff, correct standalone/VST3 metadata, successful launch of the copied executable, and emits a source/artifact/toolchain hash manifest plus an exact-ZIP checksum and human archive-attestation record.

The remaining legal blocker is deliberately human: confirm the shipping entity's JUCE and pinned VST3 choices, attest the two artwork files, clear or replace the nine TG55 waves plus catalog, and complete provenance for the release-candidate factory preset collection. The current development executable is also correctly rejected because it retains historical Immor Audio Windows metadata; a fresh candidate must identify Sample Squad. Signoff lives in docs/Release_Legal_Signoff.md and docs/Factory_Preset_Provenance.md.

Automated progress (2026-08-01): every CMake-embedded runtime resource now has an exact machine-readable entry in Resources/ReleaseAssetClearance.json. Release hygiene verifies the manifest against the SampleSquadAssets target, and public packaging fails closed while any entry is blocked. The ten TG55 wave/catalog entries and two first-party artwork entries remain blocked pending the documented provenance resolution; development builds are unaffected.

Automated progress (2026-08-04): the complete 619-preset factory inventory is now reproducibly fingerprinted as b6081fe2b9d1f579. Two independent safety sweeps matched with zero failures. Runtime testing, release hygiene, and package evidence all reject unnoticed preset drift; only the human authorship and redistribution attestation remains open.

Practical Beta Threshold

A realistic beta threshold is:

1. Core song workflow works: create project, choose instruments, record/edit clips, arrange, mix, save/load, render WAV.
2. MIDI input is playable and records with believable timing on at least one USB controller and one DIN route through mioXL.
3. Instrument lanes are no longer confusingly tied to Pads except for drum/MPC workflows.
4. No major UI clipping or unreadable controls remain in the core pages.
5. All public claims are limited to what automated gates plus human QA receipts actually prove.

Current Risk Judgment

SpaceAge is beyond prototype in architecture, but not yet beta-safe in user trust. The most important remaining work is not more feature expansion; it is convergence: proof, cleanup, and removing confusing legacy pathways.

The biggest beta blockers are:

• Real hardware MIDI proof.
• Instrument/sampler listening, preset, and tactile QA.
• Visible UI cleanup.
• Clean-machine packaging, licensing, and installer proof.
• Human render/export listening and external-DAW alignment.

Instrument/lane independence and Save/load/recovery are now closed at the software-contract level and remain in the hands-on matrix for confirmation rather than redesign. Once the remaining human/device/package checks are green, beta becomes a product decision rather than an engineering hope.

2026-07-29 - Implementation Note

• The roadblocks in this report now have a structured backend counterpart: MidiProjectHealthSummary::betaReadinessGate().
• Future UI should render that object rather than duplicating this document by hand, preserving one source of truth for blocker status, next action, and source-doc references.

2026-07-29 - Instrument/Sampler Audio QA Made Inspectable

The Instrument and Sampler Audio QA blocker now has structured health data via betaReadinessGate.instrumentAudioQaChecklist. This gives the beta cockpit a direct list of engines to prove before a public beta: synths, samplers, drum labs, SoundFont, Quasar, and TG55. Automated smoke tests remain useful, but the beta blocker stays open until the public-build listening pass is complete.

2026-07-29 - Instrument Bay / Lane Independence Made Inspectable

The Instrument Bay / lane-independence roadblock now has structured beta readiness data via betaReadinessGate.instrumentLaneIndependenceChecklist. Most current bridge-phase behaviors have automated closeout proof. The remaining blocker is the final storage architecture: non-drum Instruments still need to move from hidden pad-indexed backing arrays into the final unbounded Instrument registry.

2026-07-30 - Bridge Capacity Hardened

Fresh lane creation now treats an unowned private Instrument slot as reclaimable even when stale bridge-era payload remains in it. Fresh creation resets the destination; Copy and Variant remain strict and protect retained payload. This removes a false capacity reached path, but it does not close the final unbounded Instrument-registry blocker.

2026-07-29 - UI Clipping / Readability Made Inspectable

The broad UI clipping/readability beta blocker now has a structured checklist in the beta-readiness gate. It covers the full visual sweep that must happen before public beta: default and smaller viewport sizes, Synth Engine pages, Effects editors, Settings/MIDI pages, automation popups, Arrangement lane badges, Mixer strips, startup dialogs, and Library flows.

Open item: this remains human QA. Automated tests can prove the checklist exists, but only a visual sweep can prove the customer-facing screens are clear enough to ship.

2026-08-04 - Native Synth Minimum-Size Sweep Strengthened

The native Synth Engine portion of the clipping/readability blocker now has a two-viewport executable contract. SYNTH_CONTROL_QUALITY opens every native engine route and subpage at both 1800x1000 and SpaceAge's declared minimum 1100x800, checking 590 visible control instances for containment, interaction, readable values, gesture completion, and Undo behavior.

The first minimum-size run found a real Liftoff failure: its fifth upper selector had zero width. The layout now shares the available width across all five selectors and the strengthened gate passes. U01 remains open because the rest of the app and human comfort still require visual review; this evidence narrows the search rather than substituting geometry for eyesight.

2026-08-04 - Effects Detail Minimum-Size Sweep Added

U01-A EFFECTS_DETAIL_LAYOUT now opens Halostar, Reverb, EchoRay, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, and Octave through the production Effects-page callback at both 1800x1000 and the supported minimum 1100x800. The contract audits 312 real component instances for panel containment, minimum control sizes, label/control separation, and correct EchoRay section-card ownership.

The focused gate and canonical 59/59 convergence pass. U01/U03 remain open for human readability, hover, drag feel, non-default Windows scaling, and the rest of the application; this closes an automation gap without pretending geometry can replace human eyesight.

2026-07-29 - Arrangement / Automation UX Made Inspectable

The Arrangement and Automation confidence blocker now has a checklist in the beta-readiness gate. Required human QA includes looped playback start, playhead visual sync, real-time automation drawing, automation deletion proving itself audibly, FIT/O/overview behavior, long-clip interior previews, Section markers moving with clips, and recording into the armed Arrangement lane.

Open item: this remains a musician-in-the-chair pass. The automated tests verify the checklist and several underlying contracts, but the final proof is that composing, editing, looping, and recording feel predictable during playback.

2026-07-29 - Save / Load / Recovery Trust Made Inspectable

The save/load/recovery beta blocker now has a structured checklist in the beta-readiness gate. Required human QA includes startup Load Last / Load Blank / Load Project File, Library save and reload, tempo and loop restoration, lane Instrument and mixer-route restoration, patch dirty-state honesty, automation reload and deletion truth, missing-asset relink repair, and large-project progress feedback.

Open item: this must be tested with real SpaceAge projects, including at least one SoundFont or external-asset-heavy project. Automated coverage can prove the checklist exists, but user trust requires a real reopen pass.

2026-07-29 - Render / Export Proof Made Inspectable

The render/export beta blocker now has a structured checklist in the beta-readiness gate. Required QA includes full mix WAV duration/content, loop or selection render boundaries, stem naming/routing, MIDI export timing and expression data, automation render truth, effect-tail handling, asset-backed instrument rendering, and visible progress feedback.

Open item: this requires real exported files. Automated tests can prove the checklist exists, but the beta decision needs ears and file inspection against the visible arrangement.

2026-07-29 - Packaging / Legal Release Hygiene Made Inspectable

The packaging/legal release blocker now has a structured checklist in the beta-readiness gate. Required QA includes third-party code ledger review, GPL avoidance, factory asset rights, embedded splash/marketing assets, clean installer/runtime behavior, version and app naming consistency, public claim review, and privacy/network expectations.

Open item: this is a release-management pass, not a DSP or MIDI pass. It must be completed before public beta packaging even if the app feels musically usable.

2026-07-30 - Instrument Presets No Longer Own Mixer State

Pad Vault sound save/load now uses the same Mixer-ownership boundary as lane Instrument copy. Sound files no longer serialize or overwrite channel gain, pan, mute/solo, autopan, shared-effect sends, delay routing, channel-strip compressor/saturation/EQ, or parametric EQ state. A full Release regression proves that sound parameters round-trip while the destination Mixer settings remain untouched; legacy vault files are also prevented from writing Mixer-owned values.

Automated proof:

• test-reports/continue-20260730-pad-vault-mixer-isolation-full.out - complete Release suite, exit 0.
• test-reports/continue-20260730-synth-audio-smoke-post-vault.out - 21 native engine/preset finite-output and note-release cases, exit 0.

Remaining Instrument/Sampler proof:

• Run human listening and large-library QA on at least one real SoundFont and one complex Quasar package, including Panic and loop/mapping quality.
• Complete a public-build listening pass; automated non-silence is necessary but does not prove musical quality.

Automated Quasar progress (2026-07-30): I05-A now generates a one-zone Quasar package and WAV fixture at test time, loads it into a private lane Instrument, proves finite audible output and voice retirement, saves and reloads the project, deliberately relocates the package, verifies the missing-asset receipt, repairs the path, and proves identical audible behavior again. This closes automated Quasar load/release/round-trip/relink coverage without bundling private or third-party sample content. Human listening and large-package performance remain open.

Automated SoundFont progress (updated 2026-08-04): I04-A generates a moderate-size standards-valid SF2 bank from first principles, with three audibly distinct presets, one Instrument, one long PCM sample, and the required terminal records. It proves private-lane loading, preset metadata/selection/clamping, finite audible output, complete source-envelope response, isolated low-pass response, voice retirement, project round trip, missing-file reporting after relocation, stale-receipt refusal, relink, and deterministic restored audio. No personal or third-party SoundFont is bundled. Large-bank performance, Panic, controller response, and musical-quality listening remain human QA.

Automated polyphonic CPU progress (2026-07-30): I03-A now measures an eight-note chord on the private lane-owned source path in a Release build at 48 kHz with a 512-sample block. Redshift, four-way-unison Liftoff, Glass Moon, normal-quality Moonshadow, normal-quality Lunacy, generated SoundFont, and generated Quasar all produced finite audible output, retired their voices, and remained comfortably below a 70% real-time ceiling. After Liftoff's wavetable preparation fix, its four-way-unison case measured 5.66% in the convergence run. These values establish repeatable regression evidence, not universal CPU claims; factory-preset sweeps, large user assets, and target-machine listening remain human/performance QA.

Automated Arrangement CPU progress (2026-07-30): I03-B now measures a 32-step looping song scene with synthesized kick/snare/hat, five independent tonal lane Instruments, lane automation, distinct Mixer routing, and active Halostar/EchoRay/chorus returns. Its first run exceeded realtime and isolated Liftoff's per-sample additive harmonic reconstruction as the dominant cost. Liftoff now prepares band-limited wavetable mip levels outside the realtime render path. Effect-by-effect profiling then identified EchoRay as the dominant shared-return cost. EchoRay now schedules only channels with a send, a live tail, loop input, or enabled noise, and calculates block-constant coefficients outside its per-sample loop. Its dedicated workload fell from 64.12% to a three-run median of 53.83% without changing signal, control-response, or tail evidence. The latest complete convergence pass measured the full wet Arrangement workload at 63.77% against an 80% ceiling. The gate now has useful automated margin, while target-machine profiling and human listening remain required.

Automated shared-effects progress (2026-07-30): X03-A now proves Halostar, Reverb, and EchoRay are audible transformations rather than enabled-but-silent return paths. Each effect must differ from dry, remain finite, produce a post-note tail, and react to alternate character settings. The first run exposed an EchoRay defect: short source activity allowed its delay line to sleep before a longer synchronized repeat reached the output. The corrected wake horizon preserves long musical taps, and all 13 focused Release convergence gates pass. Human listening and control-surface QA remain open.

2026-07-30 - P0: Drum Pads And Private Instruments Share Slots 17-64

Static architecture audit found that firstPrivateArrangementInstrumentSlot is 16 while the product still exposes 64 Drum Pads. The Pad page and drum sequencer can therefore address storage also used by private lane Instruments. This can produce cross-contamination, including Pad loads/clears replacing lane Instrument payload and drum rows triggering private Instrument slots.

Beta decision: this is a hard blocker. Preserve 64 customer-facing Drum Pads, move private Instrument storage into a non-overlapping backing range or a dedicated registry, and add boundary tests proving Pad-only workflows cannot mutate lane-owned Instruments. Do not ship a beta on the current overlapping range.

2026-07-30 - P0 Storage Overlap Resolved

The overlapping-storage blocker above is resolved in the current source architecture:

• Drum Composer owns source slots 0-63 and all drum-pattern rows are exactly 64 entries.
• Non-drum Arrangement lanes own a separate private source range, 64-79, one slot for each of the 16 supported lanes.
• Mixer processing remains an independent 64-channel domain. Mixer-owned parameters and meter arrays are physically sized to 64 and do not exist on private Instrument source slots.
• Pad-trigger and Drum-pattern APIs reject private Instrument slots.
• Lane-Instrument copy filters all Mixer-owned state, including gain, pan, mute/solo, routing, sends, strip processing, and EQ.
• Lane-Instrument assignment now has compact targeted Undo/Redo. It snapshots only the affected Instrument slot rather than serializing the entire project.

Automated proof:

• SOURCE_CARDINALITY verifies the 64/16/64 boundaries, Pad-row rejection at source 64, private-source parameter ownership, Mixer-state preservation, lane-Instrument Undo/Redo, and finite Redshift playback through a Mixer channel.
• SYNTH_AUDIO_SMOKE verifies finite output and note release for all 21 native engine/preset cases currently in the smoke matrix.

Remaining beta work is no longer Pad/Instrument overlap. It is final user-workflow QA around lane creation, Instrument replacement, routing, save/load, and real project use. The current private backing range is intentionally finite at 16 because Arrangement itself currently supports 16 lanes; an unbounded registry remains a post-boundary scalability improvement rather than an active corruption hazard.

2026-07-30 - Lane Source Boundary Follow-Up

The second boundary audit closed several related P0 defects:

• Default BASS, HARMONY, and MELODY lanes now own distinct private source slots 64, 65, and 66 while retaining independent Mixer destinations 2, 3, and 4.
• Generic live MIDI and imported channel-10 Drum events reject source slots outside the 64 Drum Pads, preventing high MIDI notes from triggering private lane Instruments.
• Instrument Bay records resolve a private source through its owning lane instead of deriving an invalid Mixer channel from the source index.
• Targeted Instrument Undo/Redo now includes Flux Nodes as well as patch parameters and source assets.
• Duplicate-source repair during project restore no longer creates a phantom Undo step.

Focused automated proof passes with constants=1 defaults=1 pattern=1 clipboard=1 undo=1 redo=1 route=1 roundTrip=1 restoreUndo=1 drumBoundary=1 and finite private Redshift output. The full native synth smoke matrix remains 21/21 passing.

Remaining P1 work is a complete source-only reset for fresh Instrument replacement, migration of older regression fixtures that still use obsolete private slots below 64, and an end-to-end Arrangement audio test with deliberately conflicting source-index and lane Mixer settings. The transitional numPads alias also remains a naming cleanup item; it no longer controls Mixer cardinality.

2026-07-30 - P1 Instrument Replacement And Hostile Routing Proof Closed

The three P1 items named above are now implemented and covered:

• Fresh Instrument replacement has one processor-owned reset path. It resets every declared source parameter to its default, clears source assets, SoundFont/Quasar state, modulation routes, Flux Nodes, round-robin state, caches, and the source label while preserving the lane's Mixer channel and all Mixer-owned processing.
• The reset creates a compact Instrument-only Undo checkpoint. Undo restores the previous sound without rewinding unrelated Arrangement or Mixer work; Redo reapplies the clean source.
• Regression fixtures now allocate private Instruments from firstPrivateArrangementInstrumentSlot rather than obsolete Pad-range literals.
• Arrangement playback is tested with intentionally conflicting settings on the lane's assigned Mixer channel and the channel numerically implied by its private source slot. Audio follows only the lane's explicit Mixer assignment before and after project roundtrip and targeted Undo/Redo.

Focused Release proof passes for source cardinality, lane workflow, private-slot boundaries, Instrument UI ownership, and all 21 native synth smoke cases. The remaining Instrument Bay work is naming/API cleanup around transitional pad-shaped internals and the product decision about moving beyond the current 16-lane ceiling; neither item is an active source/Mixer corruption bug.

2026-07-30 - P0 Audition And Effects Routing Closed

Private Instrument previews and the Effects-page source selector now use the same lane-owned Mixer destination as Arrangement playback. A source-to-Mixer resolver is the single authority: Drum sources resolve to their corresponding Drum channel, private Instruments resolve through their owning lane, and undocked preview sources remain bounded to a valid fallback channel.

The audio-thread audition handoff now carries the resolved Mixer channel instead of reconstructing it from the private source index. Focused proof deliberately mutes Mixer Channel 17 while leaving the old source-derived fallback audible, then reverses those states; both Arrangement playback and direct preview audio follow Channel 17 exclusively. The Instrument UI regression also proves a Halostar send selected through a private Instrument edits Channel 17 rather than Channel 64.

The processor implementation now uses numSourceSlots throughout. The only remaining numPads declaration is a compatibility alias in the public header for editor/test migration; it no longer sizes or iterates processor storage.

2026-07-30 - Reviewed MIDI Import And Patch/Mixer Ownership

• MIDI channel split import now maps channels deterministically into private Instrument slots 64-79 in both the review UI and commit backend.
• A full Instrument pool rejects the import without creating lanes, clips, or orphaned pattern payloads.
• Duplicate selected Instrument destinations disable the review action. If an explicit destination becomes unavailable before commit, the backend rejects that channel and asks for review instead of silently rerouting it.
• Native patch allowlists and factory-preset application no longer own or reset Mixer gain, pan, mute, output routing, or EQ state.
• Lunacy's old generic gain control was Mixer gain in disguise; it has been removed from the synth drawer and patch capture path.

Focused source-cardinality and Instrument-UI gates pass. The remaining beta work is human workflow QA plus the already-listed hardware, export, recovery, and packaging proof.

2026-07-30 - Instrument/Mixer Ownership UI Closed

The common Synth Engine EQ page was the final visible duplicate Mixer-processing surface in the Instrument drawer. It and its dead implementation have been removed. Patch and factory-preset paths already exclude Mixer state, and the regression suite now enforces both sides of that contract.

Verification:

• Release self-test target compiles cleanly.
• Focused Instrument-UI ownership slice passes with nativePatchNoMixerSends=1 and synthNoCommonMixerEq=1.
• Full AudioSelfTest passes after the tab-order change, covering native synth output/release, lane playback, Mixer routing, automation, MIDI import/recording, hardware safety, and export.

Remaining beta gates are predominantly end-to-end human QA and release operations: new-project lane/Instrument workflows, real-controller timing and recording, project recovery, export/stem inspection, UI clipping review, installer/signing, and a clean-machine smoke pass.

2026-07-30 - Project Persistence Failure Boundary Closed

Project loading no longer treats every JSON object as a valid SpaceAge session. New files carry a format/version identity, while backward compatibility is limited to structurally recognizable SpaceAge files with a valid parameter tree and source array. Invalid text and unrelated JSON are rejected before restoration, and automated proof confirms the open session remains unchanged after both failures.

Project saves now stage and validate the complete serialized file before replacing the requested destination. The UI already changed Save/Save As and Last Project identity only after successful processor persistence; recovery snapshots intentionally reopen as unsaved work. All 14 named Release gates and the complete monolithic self-test pass after these changes.

The remaining persistence blocker is human workflow proof rather than an identified backend corruption defect: Save/Save As, Load Last, manual project selection, recovery choice, missing-asset repair, cancelled dialogs, an unwritable target, and a damaged project should be exercised in one customer-facing session.

2026-07-30 - Startup And Recovery Failure Boundary Closed

The remembered Last Project path is now preflighted before the startup dialog advertises it. Missing, malformed, unrelated, or structurally damaged targets remove the stale preference. If the file disappears or fails between preflight and loading, SpaceAge returns to the startup choices with an explicit non-destructive failure message instead of dropping the musician onto another page.

Save Kit and Save Project cancellation are now true no-ops, asynchronous chooser callbacks no longer assume the editor is alive, and the remembered-project preference is replaced atomically. Recovery retention now owns only files with SpaceAge's generated recovery prefix. It keeps the newest eight valid, useful snapshots, removes invalid generated debris, and preserves unrelated project files in the folder.

Automated evidence covers file preflight, failed-load immutability, exact recovery retention, unrelated-file preservation, deterministic Blank Project behavior, and the complete Release suite. Remaining beta work is customer-facing failure QA on real dialogs and filesystems: cancelled choosers, unwritable/removable destinations, damaged Last Project targets, and recovery selection with missing assets.

2026-07-30 - Portable Archive Backend Closed

Portable project export/import is no longer a direct ZIP convenience path. Export now stages and validates a remapped project before atomically replacing the requested archive. Import inspects paths, links, duplicates, declared expansion size, required project structure, manifest mappings, packaged files, and Quasar package structure before extraction is committed.

Automated proof exports a project with a real generated WAV, removes the source file, imports the archive into a new location, loads the remapped project, and produces finite audible output. Separate hostile archives prove traversal and malformed or mismatched manifests are rejected. SoundFont and Quasar repair gates prove async relink work is tied to the missing asset the musician selected rather than a mutable list index. The complete Release suite passes afterward.

This closes the identified archive-corruption backend blocker. It does not close customer-facing archive QA. Before beta, test a giant SoundFont, a substantial Quasar package, cancelled dialogs, destination failure/removal, disk exhaustion, visible progress, and multi-asset repair on the target machine.

2026-07-30 - Portable Archive Progress And Responsiveness Closed In Code

Portable archive export now separates live project-state capture from expensive filesystem work. SpaceAge captures an immutable export plan on the message thread, then creates and verifies the ZIP on a worker thread. Import inspection and extraction also run in the background; only the final validated project load returns to the message thread. This avoids serializing live processor state from a worker while also preventing large archives from freezing the interface.

Export and import now have determinate progress windows. The focused archive regression observes eight export progress updates and six import progress updates while preserving the existing portability, path-redaction, hostile-archive rejection, remapping, and audible-recovery proofs. The broad Release run reaches its final chain WAV export PASS checkpoint afterward in project-archive-progress-broad-20260730-v2.out.

The remaining archive beta gate is experiential rather than an identified backend omission: test Shane's large GM SoundFont project, a substantial Quasar package, application shutdown during an operation, cancelled choosers, and failing or disappearing destinations on the target Windows machine. Mid-operation cancellation is not currently advertised because JUCE ZIP compression/extraction is not cooperatively cancellable in this implementation.

2026-07-31 - Instrument Capacity Is Explicit For Beta

The beta architecture supports 16 Arrangement lanes and exactly 16 private, non-overlapping lane-Instrument sources. This means the current source pool covers every lane the Arrangement can create; it is no longer accurate to list a dynamic or unbounded Instrument registry as a prerequisite for beta.

The dynamic registry remains a post-beta scalability project. The beta gate is narrower and testable: create the maximum lane count, assign a different Instrument to every non-drum lane, confirm independent editing/routing, save and reopen, and verify that no action changes a visible Drum Pad. Automated source-cardinality and ownership gates cover the backend boundary; human maximum-lane workflow QA remains open.

2026-07-31 - Fresh Automated Beta Convergence Receipt

A fresh Release self-test build completed successfully, followed by all focused release gates and the complete application self-test. The broad run passed 15/15 gates. After adding explicit maximum-lane proof, the focused convergence run also passed 15/15 gates, including the new I02-A Maximum-lane Instrument source independence gate.

The new gate creates all 16 supported Arrangement lanes as independent Instruments, consumes all 16 private source slots, preserves unique Instrument identities, Mixer routes, MIDI channels, and patch labels through save/load, and proves that a visible Drum Pad sentinel remains unchanged. No backend beta failure was found by the automated suite.

This does not replace human beta QA. The open work is now dominated by real-controller latency/recording feel, UI clipping and workflow review, large private asset projects, dialog/filesystem failure paths, rendered-file listening, installer/signing, and clean-machine installation.

2026-07-31 - Human Beta QA Matrix And Corrected Instrument Gate

The hands-on beta checks now live in docs/Human_Beta_QA_Matrix.md. They cover real MIDI hardware, every public instrument/sampler, Arrangement and Automation behavior, save/load/recovery and asset repair, render/export, viewport readability, and packaging/legal release hygiene.

The beta gate no longer reports an unbounded Instrument registry as unfinished beta architecture. SpaceAge currently permits 16 Arrangement lanes and has 16 independent private Instrument sources, with maximum-capacity save/load proof. That bounded contract is complete for beta. Removing the ceiling remains a post-beta scalability project, not a reason to hold the first beta indefinitely.

2026-07-31 - Bounded Instrument Gate Verification

Internal Release self-test rebuilt successfully. Focused verification passed:

• MIDI Health: PASS, including beta blocker transition assertions.
• Source Cardinality: PASS with maxLaneRoundTrip=1.
• Focused release convergence: 15/15 PASS.
• Instrument Bay / lane independence now reports READY under the explicit 16-lane beta contract.
• The beta gate now tracks seven remaining human/release blockers instead of incorrectly tracking eight.
• No customer executable was produced in this pass.

2026-07-31 - Packaging Hygiene Closed In Automation

Release packaging now uses a clean staging directory and includes the standalone app, VST3, README, third-party ledger, Inter OFL notice, and TinySoundFont MIT notice. Product-facing metadata now consistently identifies Sample Squad and SpaceAge. A disposable archive inspection proved the expected layout, then removed the proof package.

Gate R02-A makes identity, offline boundaries, required notices, and ledger coverage part of the 17/17 focused convergence suite. This closes the mechanical packaging/notices omission. It does not replace legal ownership review, code signing, installer work, or a clean-machine test; those remain human release gates.

2026-07-31 - Full-Arrangement WAV Backend Gate Promoted

The existing WAV regression is now named release gate E01-A. It proves that full-song export ignores active loop selections, preserves a late musical event, writes the expected stereo timeline plus a bounded five-second decay phase, stops transport before rendering that tail, and reaches silence. Focused convergence now passes 17/17.

This closes the identified backend risk that full-song render might stop after the first clips or secretly repeat the arrangement during its effects tail. Human listening and destination/progress/error-path checks remain open in Session 5 of the Human Beta QA Matrix.

2026-07-31 - Export Reliability Closed For Beta Scope

Focused release convergence now passes 21/21. The historical E01-A gate proves exact tempo-derived full-arrangement WAV duration, active-loop immunity, 24-bit stereo output, monotonic progress, late-song content, bounded decay, and staged replacement of the destination only after verification. E02-A proves Arrangement MIDI timing, lengths, lane channels, drums-only isolation, bank/program/CC payload, long-clip coverage, and tempo/meter/key metadata. E03-A proves manifest-backed, checksummed, lane-isolated MIDI stem packages. The exact snapshot also proves realtime asset retirement and the intended Shared Pattern + Clip Local versus Lane Local automation boundary.

Lane-audio stem export now exists as a time-aligned package with one WAV per Arrangement lane plus a machine-readable manifest. Automated proof covers stable naming and ownership metadata, saved mute/solo policy, Drum-versus-Instrument isolation, external-only and empty-lane silence explanations, exact format/length, progress, cancellation cleanup, and refusal to overwrite an existing package. Remaining export work is human product proof: listen to rendered audio and real effect tails, observe long-render feedback, inspect names and destinations, verify automation and asset Instruments by ear, align the WAV stems in another DAW, and re-import MIDI packages.

2026-07-31 - Clean-Checkout Blocker Has An Executable Proof Path

Canonical convergence now names I08-A for realtime instrument asset-generation retirement, so a release convergence receipt cannot omit that focused P1 proof. A new candidate-bound runner resolves an exact commit SHA, refuses dirty or untracked required inputs, builds only SampleSquadAudioTest from a detached temporary checkout, runs canonical convergence and diff checks, and writes the SHA into its receipt.

The runner's parser/manifest self-validation, release-hygiene check, expected dirty-tree refusal, detached configure/build, canonical convergence, mutation checks, and guarded cleanup are green. Automated clean-checkout blocker R01 is closed by exact candidate 0b0fafe08d78996e5286b448f2c1e6b5bb7b9156 and receipt test-reports/clean-checkout-convergence-0b0fafe08d78-20260731-202928.out.

This is independent of manual evidence. Real MIDI hardware, musician listening, large private assets, dialogs/filesystems, installer/signing, and clean-machine use remain human beta gates even after the automated clean-checkout receipt is green.

2026-07-31 - Support Diagnostics Foundation

SpaceAge now has a narrow support-bundle writer and a Settings action that creates a timestamped diagnostic ZIP. The bundle has an exact three-file contract: README, sanitized system facts, and typed MIDI/application health values. It cannot accept whole diagnostic reports or user-authored lane, device, or Hardware Passport text. A focused test proves archive shape, exact schema keys, sentinel-name absence, and path redaction.

This reduces beta support ambiguity but does not close R04. Typed standalone session evidence now provides a clean/interrupted distinction without claiming crash diagnosis; customer review of the generated report and supported-Windows creation, reveal, and forced-interruption behavior remain open.

2026-08-01 - Callback Lifetime And Processor Teardown Hardened

Async chooser and popup completions now verify that the editor still exists before they change MIDI, samples, Pad Vault data, TempoCalc exports, pad banks, rendering, or project state. Processor destruction now stops external MIDI producers and joins every owner-backed control, SysEx, expression, and note queue before dependent state can be destroyed.

The configured Release audio-test target compiles and the MIDI timing, health, and closeout gates pass. This closes one intermittent-crash class. The project-trust blocker remains open for unclean-session evidence and human Windows failure-path QA.

2026-08-01 - Detached Callout Hardening Begun

The first independent-desktop callouts now carry explicit lifetime contracts: processor-only Flux and Loop panels use weak references, while Chord Performance and Grid Color use editor-safe callbacks. Processor weak references are invalidated before teardown work starts. Release compilation and the MIDI timing, health, and closeout gates remain green.

This closes the small detached-panel slice, not the whole blocker. The large Settings and MIDI editing callouts still need guarded editor/processor access, timer shutdown on owner loss, and nested-dialog validation before callback lifetime can be marked complete.

2026-08-01 - MIDI Health Detached Lifecycle Closed

MIDI Health now uses weak processor callbacks and an editor safe pointer across periodic refresh, QA receipt persistence, repair actions, and closeout navigation. The timer stops and dismisses its independent desktop callout when either owner expires. The Release audio-test target rebuilds and MIDI_HEALTH passes.

This closes the MIDI Health portion of detached-panel risk. MIDI Maps and SysEx Vault still require the same resolve-before-use conversion, followed by the larger Hardware, Expression, and Patch surfaces.

2026-08-01 - MIDI Maps Detached Lifecycle Closed

MIDI Maps now borrows the processor through a JUCE weak reference instead of retaining the editor. Every Learn and mapping edit validates ownership at use time, while its eight-Hz live-value timer stops and dismisses the independent desktop callout during teardown. The Release target rebuilds; MIDI_CONTROL_QUEUE and MIDI_CLOSEOUT pass.

This removes another high-frequency detached callback path from the project-trust blocker. SysEx Vault remains the next timer-backed conversion.

2026-08-01 - SysEx Vault lifecycle roadblock closed

The detached SysEx Vault no longer has a raw processor-lifetime dependency. Closing a project or editor while the Vault is open now stops its timer and dismisses the surface instead of leaving callbacks able to reach an expired audio engine. Focused capture and restore-response tests plus the full MIDI closeout suite pass.

2026-08-01 - Hardware Passport lifecycle roadblock closed

The detached Hardware Passports surface no longer retains a raw audio-processor reference. Confirmation dialogs and parameter-table file selection now require both a live panel and live project engine before reading, saving, or queueing anything. Sync-policy, setup-queue, and full MIDI closeout gates pass.

2026-08-01 - MIDI Patch detached lifecycle closed

MIDI Patch no longer assumes its editor or parent Settings panel still exists when delayed hardware confirmations return. Hardware Passport recipe edits, NRPN definitions, setup-card queueing, bend tests, verification, SoundFont mapping, and the MIDI OUT bridge now stop cleanly when their UI owner has gone away.

The focused setup-queue and hardware sync-policy gates pass, followed by the full MIDI closeout regression. This removes another intermittent-close crash class, but beta trust still requires the remaining detached surfaces and human Windows cancellation/closure QA.

2026-08-01 - Automation detached lifecycle closed

The largest remaining detached MIDI editor no longer retains a raw editor reference. Automation ownership changes, shared-pattern acknowledgement, Variant creation, curve editing, point movement, lasso, draw/erase, copy/paste, clear/delete, reports, and the transition to MIDI Patch all refuse work after their editor disappears.

Focused restore and ownership regressions pass, followed by the complete MIDI closeout gate. Automated ownership hardening for the major detached MIDI surfaces is now closed; Windows human QA must still exercise closing Settings, the plugin editor, and the standalone app while each surface and confirmation is open.

2026-08-01 - Support-bundle privacy roadblock closed

The support archive no longer sanitizes whatever human-readable MIDI report happened to be supplied. Its public context has no free-form diagnostic field; it accepts only a closed set of counts, timings, readiness booleans, runtime mode, audio format facts, and typed prior-session lifecycle evidence, then emits the versioned spaceage-support-v5 schema. User-authored names and identifiers are excluded by construction.

The v5 schema adds a closed standalone/hosted runtime mode plus numeric sample rate and block size, allowing support to distinguish wrapper and audio-buffer conditions without recording a host or device name. It joins startup recovery truth through application.previous_session_state and application.previous_session_stage. Neither field is exception text, and neither claims SpaceAge diagnosed a crash. Human Windows creation, reveal, forced interruption, and readability QA remain open under R04.

Focused session and archive tests enforce the exact schemas, concurrent marker safety, all allowed keys, and private-data sentinel absence. Typed standalone session evidence now closes the automated lifecycle-evidence portion of R04; human Windows creation, forced-interruption at representative lifecycle phases, reveal, and content QA remain open.

2026-08-01 - Detached Settings ownership roadblock closed

The common Sequencer Settings root now belongs to the editor, while its MIDI Input, Timing, Sync, and Output callbacks use safe component pointers and Setup Guide processor callbacks use weak ownership. Combined with the prior per-panel conversions, the automated detached-callout ownership audit is closed. The project-trust roadblock now consists of human Windows cancellation, closure, recovery, and support-bundle inspection rather than a known raw-lifetime defect.

2026-08-01 - Non-starting standalone roadblock closed

The handed-off executable was reproduced as a Windows stack overflow rather than a permissions or copy problem. The audio test had a much larger stack than the customer app, so all backend gates could pass while JUCE's standalone startup failed before a window appeared. The standalone now has a measured 16 MiB reserve and launches, creates a window, closes normally, and exits with code 0.

That exact behavior is now an automated release gate. Build verification and clean-checkout convergence must build the standalone, while package staging launches the copied executable that would be handed to a customer. This closes the known local startup regression; installation, Microsoft runtime presence, signing, and clean-machine startup remain human beta evidence.

2026-08-01 - Mixer continuous-edit Undo gap closed

Continuous Mixer controls now enter the same project Undo/Redo history as Synth controls. Gain, pan, auto-pan depth, shared-effect sends, delay darkening, compressor, saturation, modulation sends, and musical EQ sliders checkpoint once when the musician begins a drag; parameter updates during that drag do not flood the eight-action history.

The focused real-editor regression opens Mixer, moves the actual gain fader, proves exact one-step Undo/Redo, and reports mixerSliderTransaction=1. This closes the identified continuous-control portion of P05. Human beta QA must still exercise mixed action sequences and discrete Mixer buttons/selectors.

2026-08-01 - Mixer discrete-edit Undo gap closed

Mute, Solo, channel compressor/saturation/EQ enable, Auto Pan rate, EchoRay timing, output routing, and master compressor/limiter enable now create project Undo checkpoints only for genuine user changes. Attachment initialization, bank navigation, parameter refresh, and Undo restoration do not create phantom history.

The real-editor contract proves a visible Mute toggle and visible output-bus reassignment through exact Undo/Redo and reports mixerDiscreteTransaction=1. Focused Arranger/Mixer, MIDI recording timing, MIDI health, and MIDI closeout gates pass. Human beta still needs mixed-action listening and interaction QA across all four Mixer banks.

2026-08-01 - Master and mixed Mixer history gap closed

All six Master continuous controls now share the same one-gesture project Undo boundary as channel-strip sliders. The real editor regression performs three different user actions in sequence: Master volume drag, channel Mute, and output-bus reassignment. Undo restores routing, then Mute, then Master volume; Redo reapplies Master volume, Mute, then routing.

The focused contract reports mixerMixedHistory=1. MIDI record timing, MIDI health, MIDI closeout, and the full application self-test also pass. Automated Mixer history coverage is now closed for the current continuous and discrete controls; supported-Windows human listening remains required for tactile behavior and audible restoration while playback is running.

2026-08-01 - Effects and alternate-input Undo gap closed

Compact Effects rack controls, selected-source sends, and EchoRay deep-editor toggles and choices now enter project Undo without attachment-refresh history. A send change that automatically enables its return is restored as one user decision. Typed Master values and double-click reset are also proven through JUCE's real slider input paths rather than test-only callbacks.

The focused editor contract reports mixerAlternateInput=1 and effectsMixedHistory=1. MIDI record timing, MIDI health, MIDI closeout, and the full application self-test pass; the full-suite receipt exits with code 0. Remaining beta risk is human listening and hardware/file workflow evidence, not a known automated Effects-history gap.

2026-08-01 - Cross-system Undo/Redo backend closed

The remaining project-history audit found and closed untracked customer controls on the Pad page, project volume, performance MIDI controls, and Instrument Bay pages. Continuous controls now checkpoint once per gesture; discrete attached controls checkpoint only when their displayed state differs from the live parameter, preventing refreshes from manufacturing phantom history.

Automated proof performs eight representative Instrument/control edits and walks exactly eight Undo then eight Redo operations. A separate system-level story combines clip resize, lane rename, Instrument pitch, automation CC, and Master volume, then proves exact reverse Undo and forward Redo order. Focused Arranger history, MIDI record timing, MIDI health, MIDI closeout, and the full application self-test pass. P05 is closed for automated beta scope; hands-on Windows listening remains in the Human Beta QA Matrix.

2026-08-01 - Unsupported project-version mutation risk closed

SpaceAge now requires the explicit SpaceAgeProject identity and the supported format version before restoring either a project file or host/plugin state. A structurally plausible file from an unsupported future version is rejected before mutation; the regression proves the open tempo, notes, and Arrangement clips remain intact.

The focused persistence test passes with futureVersionRejected=1 and futurePluginStatePreserved=1, and canonical focused Release convergence remains 21/21. This closes one backend corruption path. Human Save, Save As, recovery, cancellation, missing-asset, and unwritable-destination workflows remain open beta evidence.

2026-08-01 - Golden project lifecycle gate closed

The new P04-B release gate composes the previously separate persistence, routing, automation, playback, effects, and WAV-export proofs. Its representative project contains generated drums, two lane-owned Redshift instances, a Chord Marker, distinct Mixer routes, lane-local CC10 automation, a late-song note, a stored Arrangement loop, and a Halostar send. The original processor is destroyed before the file is reopened.

The reopened project plays finite audible output through the production callback and exports exactly 336,000 stereo 24-bit samples. The render contains its late event, the expected rightward automated image, an audible early Halostar tail, a quiet final tail, and 659 bounded monotonic progress updates. Export duration now reads the captured renderer tempo, and non-finite buffers are rejected before encoding. Canonical focused Release convergence passes 23/23.

This closes the known automated composition gap. Human beta evidence remains required for supported-Windows Save/Save As, cancellation, missing assets, unwritable destinations, listening quality, hardware feel, and installer/clean-machine behavior.

2026-08-01 - Deterministic project-save failure safety closed

Project saving now rejects directory targets and parent paths that cannot be created before temporary staging begins. The persistence regression saves a known-good project, changes the live session, forces both failure modes, and proves the original project remains byte-for-byte intact and reopenable while the unsaved live edit remains in memory.

The focused persistence gate passes with blockedParentSaveRejected=1, directoryTargetSaveRejected=1, priorProjectPreserved=1, failedSaveUiPreservedTarget=1, and failedSaveUiReportedDestination=1; canonical Release convergence passes 23/23. A rejected Save As retains the current project target and reports the exact inaccessible destination. Human Windows QA remains required for chooser cancellation, actual permission-denied/network/removable destinations, Save Over/Save As copy and focus, and honest customer-facing error wording.

2026-08-02 - Lane Instrument replacement and Add Clip backend roadblocks closed

Lane Instrument replacement now has joined audible, visible, routing, and persistence evidence. The production editor path selects a fresh engine for an existing lane, preserves that lane's Mixer Channel and clips, produces finite audible output immediately, opens the correct Synth Editor engine page, reports the new patch identity, and restores the same source ID and sound after project round trip.

Add Clip placement is now defined and tested through the real buttons: an empty selected lane starts at step 0; an occupied lane with the playhead at step 0 appends after that lane's material; a deliberate nonzero playhead target inserts there; and Add Drum Clip uses the selected Drum lane plus the chosen Drum pattern's intrinsic length. The focused receipt is reports/l02-l03-lane-workflow-20260802.out; the complete Release suite also passes in reports/l02-l03-complete-regression-20260802.out. Remaining risk is human interaction feel, not a known ownership or placement contradiction.

2026-08-01 - Recovery collision and eligibility roadblock closed

Recovery snapshots no longer rely on one-second filename precision. A sortable millisecond timestamp plus UUID makes simultaneous or rapidly repeated snapshots distinct, and the regression proves two snapshots allocated at the same instant both survive.

Recovery discovery now uses the same useful-work rules as autosave creation for customized Sections, edited single clips, Drum Pad labels, and private Instrument labels. The named P04-C gate also proves newest-eight retention, malformed generated-snapshot cleanup, unrelated-project isolation, and explicit Recovered Session (Unsaved) identity. Canonical Release convergence passes 24/24.

P04 is not closed. Supported-Windows restore choice, forced interruption, missing-asset relink, wording, and support-bundle inspection remain human evidence. The prior malformed-state backend concern is now closed at every external state boundary: file load, recovery discovery, and host/plugin restore reject invalid nested musical state before restoreStateObject can mutate the open project. Future schema work must extend that validator alongside restoration because the internal restore routine intentionally trusts accepted state.

2026-08-01 - Malformed project mutation roadblock closed

SpaceAge now validates nested musical semantics rather than accepting a file merely because its JSON, identity, format version, parameter XML, and Pad array look plausible. Pads and layers, steps, Piano Roll notes, Chord Markers, MIDI-expression payloads, chain entries, lane routes, Arrangement clips, and Sections are checked for required fields, finite values, exact fixed-bank cardinalities, declared layer consistency, legal references, and valid timeline ranges before any live state changes.

The persistence regression supplies parseable hostile projects containing an empty step object, a negative-length note, an overflowing Arrangement clip, a non-array automation event payload, shortened Pad and loop banks, a mismatched velocity-layer declaration, and a clip that references a missing lane. Both project-file loading and host/plugin restoration reject them, while an exact serialized before/after comparison proves the open project remains unchanged. Human P04 evidence is still required for dialogs, interrupted sessions, real filesystem failures, and missing-asset recovery; there is no remaining known automated partial-mutation path through an external project-state boundary.

2026-08-02 - Joint Section And Clip Move Roadblock Closed

Sections and selected Instrument clips now move through one exact transaction rather than separate callbacks. The complete destination is validated before history or model mutation, successful edits publish one playback snapshot, and collision or boundary failure preserves the serialized project plus existing Redo history. No hidden ripple is used to repair overlaps after the move.

The first Drum lane now has an explicit ownership boundary: the legacy Chain projects into it and mixed native movement containing one of those projected clips is refused. Chain slots persist their projected clip IDs so property edits, reordering, save/reopen, and Clip Local automation retain identity; copied slots receive fresh IDs. Additional Drum lanes remain native and independent. Focused proof reports sectionClipJointMove=1 and drumProjectionIdentity=1; the complete application self-test passes. Remaining risk is human interaction feel, not a known destructive move or projection-identity path.

2026-08-02 - Blocked project loads now restore control

2026-08-11 - Mixer Output, Meter, And Redshift Filter Corrections

• Mixer choices and JUCE auxiliary output buses now use Main and Host Out 1 through Host Out 16, making the destination explicit without pretending SpaceAge contains an internal Bus 1-16 mixer.
• Stereo meter bars are centered with equal margins and clear a panned-away silent side immediately; their source remains the actual post-pan, post-strip signal.
• Redshift no longer applies its ladder while the filter says Off, and it no longer receives a second hidden shared filter stage. Low-pass, high-pass, and band-pass now select distinct outputs from the Redshift filter path.
• Focused synth and mixer regression gates pass. Remaining beta evidence is a human visual and listening check in the customer build. The startup and Library project-loading paths were audited for refusal races. A MIDI stem-package import can become active after SpaceAge shows progress but before a delayed project, preset, recovery, or Blank Project load begins. Those branches previously could leave the progress display or busy overlay active indefinitely; the startup Blank action could even dismiss the dialog although no blank reset occurred. All affected paths now share a refusal helper that restores the startup choices or removes the busy overlay, and Blank Project reports whether it actually ran before the caller hides the dialog. The subsequent P06 closure adds immediate acknowledgement, honest indeterminate progress, command blocking, stale-generation protection, durable results, remembered-path retention, and archive-activation feedback. P06 is closed at the software-contract level; human observation of genuinely large synchronous loads and damaged/permission-denied targets remains in the QA matrix.

2026-08-02 - L01 Lane-Owned Instrument Boundary Closed

The last public API ambiguity between Drum Pads and private Arrangement Instruments is removed. Pad-record lookup now accepts only the 64 visible Drum Pads; private Instrument records have a separate guarded lookup and resolve Mixer ownership through their lane. A private source can no longer be presented as a Pad merely because both domains share the processor's source-parameter machinery.

Named Release proof L01-A passes lane creation, visible-Pad isolation, independent IDs and source slots, copy, Variant, fresh replacement, labels, Automation targeting, and Arrangement recording targeting. The companion source-cardinality gate passes the 64/16/64 boundaries, hostile-route audio, maximum-lane round trip, Pad rejection, and finite private-Instrument playback. L01 is closed. L02 and L03 remain distinct human-facing workflow checks.

The complete Release self-test also reaches its final WAV-export PASS after the boundary change. Evidence lives in reports/l01-lane-owned-instrument-20260802.out, reports/l01-source-cardinality-20260802.out, and reports/l01-broad-regression-20260802.out. No customer executable was produced in this pass.

2026-08-02 - Arrangement Resize And Split Ownership Closed

Instrument clip resize no longer passes through the Drum Composer's 64-step materialization rule. A clip is treated as a bounded source window: shrinking hides later source content without deleting notes, chords, shared automation, or clip-local performance data; expanding restores that content. The explicit source span is now restored after all musical payloads, so Undo, Redo, and project reopen retain exact non-bank-aligned lengths instead of silently expanding to an editing-bank boundary.

Ctrl+U pieces receive distinct clip identities and partition clip-local automation by source range while remaining visibly linked to one shared score. Timeline-insertion splits use the same 4096-step source ceiling rather than the obsolete 64-step Drum ceiling. Combined source ranges are validated before storage, repeated clips refuse split until flattened, and rejected operations do not enter history. The focused A05-A gate and all 25 named automated convergence gates pass. Human beta still needs tactile resize/split and boundary-note listening, but there is no known backend data-loss or ownership contradiction in this path.

2026-08-02 - Arrangement Gap Replacement Closed

REMOVE now creates one neutral timeline container for the clip's complete occupied duration, including repeated Instrument clips. Pasting shorter material leaves one canonical remainder; equal material consumes the gap; longer material consumes adjacent gaps without shifting the sentinel material that follows. Copied clip notes and Clip Local automation survive, while Shared and Lane Local automation, unrelated lanes, and Section markers remain unchanged.

The primary Drum chain now republishes its Arrangement projection after completed REMOVE and paste mutations. That forced projection is deliberately limited to the first, chain-owned Drum lane; native additional Drum lanes are retained byte-for-byte. The real UI regression covers Instrument and Drum operations, Undo/Redo, save/reopen, repeated-span deletion, adjacent gaps, a second Drum lane, all three automation owners, and overlap/duplicate-gap refusal. A06-A and all 27 named automated convergence gates pass, including standalone launch, automation ownership, MIDI timing, project recovery, golden reopen/export, and the complete application self-test. Human beta still needs tactile selection and listening, but no known A06 backend contradiction remains.

2026-08-02 - Arrangement Capacity Refusal Closed

Arrangement capacity is now evaluated from the complete hypothetical result rather than the number of obvious additions. The planner resolves real clips, merges preserved gaps, subtracts the resulting real ranges, and counts every canonical gap fragment. Clone and shift-clone therefore preserve both sides of an interior gap at exact capacity and refuse before mutation when the right fragment would exceed the 512-object ceiling. Cut and Instrument paste retain their split-aware preflights.

Drum paste now validates its future chain length, retained non-primary Arrangement clips, projected primary Drum clips, and total Drum duration together before checkpointing. Recording creation uses the same gap-aware preflight before clearing a target pattern. Refusal regressions begin with a genuine Redo entry and prove the project remains byte-identical and history remains usable. A07-A, all neighboring Arrangement/automation/persistence/MIDI timing gates, and canonical convergence pass. Broader primary-Drum clip-ID preservation remains a separate ownership concern rather than part of this capacity contract.

2026-08-02 - Drum Composer Reliability Roadblock Closed

The six selected-step controls now participate in Undo/Redo and group a complete drag into one musical decision. New notes become the active property target; disabled cells cannot hold invisible settings; right-click deletion and Clear obey Drum lane ownership. Clear is scoped to Drum steps, preserves Piano Roll notes, Chord Engine markers, and explicit pattern duration, and avoids wasting history when the Drum pattern is already empty.

S01-A passes entry, re-audition, selection, accent/probability/ratchet gestures, deletion, visible-bank Ctrl+A/Delete, scoped Clear, Undo/Redo, and shared melodic/chord preservation. Neighboring Arranger edit and project persistence proofs pass, and canonical Release convergence is 29/29. Remaining S01 risk is tactile and visual human QA, not a known backend scope or history failure.

2026-08-02 - Piano Roll Reliability Roadblock Closed

Piano Roll editing now has an explicit gesture transaction boundary. Create, move, left/right resize, velocity drawing, right-drag erase painting, and Shift-drag clone checkpoint once on the first real mutation and refresh once at gesture end. No-op gestures preserve Redo, stacked duplicate notes retain independent selection identity, and grouped edits keep their musical spacing when constrained by timeline bounds.

The editable source window now covers long and nonzero-offset clips, and the note model accepts the complete MIDI 0-127 pitch range. Drum-owned targets are refused before any history or pattern mutation. S02-A passes all focused behaviors, neighboring S01/A04/P04 gates remain green, and canonical Release convergence is 30/30. Remaining S02 risk is tactile and visual human QA rather than a known data, ownership, or Undo contradiction.

2026-08-02 - Arrangement Recording Backend Roadblock Closed

Arrangement recording now treats a take as one lane-owned musical transaction. Recorded notes retain fractional start and duration, attack and release velocity, channel, selected clip source window, and the lane's audible route. Input ownership is tracked by source, channel, and note, so two controllers can share a pitch without stealing releases; a same-source retrigger closes and preserves the earlier note.

Latency compensation is clamped to the selected source window, and exact release at the final boundary of a repeated clip maps to one source-cycle endpoint. Stop, disarm, target changes, restart, loop interruption, and Panic close held notes before ownership is retired. The asynchronous note and expression queues now expose a bounded drain fence before state-sensitive work, while project serialization snapshots pattern lengths and Piano Roll notes under the pattern lock.

S04-A passes first-measure capture, ownership, retrigger, source-window, interruption, route, one-step Undo/Redo, persistence, Piano Roll visibility, compensation, and final-repeat boundary checks. Canonical convergence is 32/32. Remaining beta evidence is physical and perceptual: compare direct USB with mioXL DIN, judge count-in and interruption feel, and confirm the visible take matches a musician's performed timing.

2026-08-02 - Core Transport Contract Closed

SpaceAge now resolves transport from the active workspace instead of mixing local pattern time with absolute Arrangement time. Play and Spacebar share one start resolver; pause captures the real current position; isolated rewind/forward stays local; a Piano Roll opened from an Arrangement clip translates ruler clicks into song position. Local and Arrangement loops cannot remain active together.

Count-in preparation and recording are one transaction. Cancelling during count-in removes any lane-owned clip created solely for that take, restores the prior metronome state, and leaves no false Undo/Redo entry. A refused recording arm validates before checkpointing, so it also preserves an existing Redo branch. Metronome accents use absolute musical steps, and transport mutations are synchronized against the audio callback. S05-A plus count-in, S04 recording, Piano Roll, Drum Composer, MIDI sync policy, golden reopen/export, and canonical 33/33 convergence pass. Physical MIDI Stop/MMC during an active take remains a named hardware-beta check rather than real-time-unsafe editor cleanup inside the audio callback.

2026-08-03 - Long Instrument Clip Navigation Closed

The Piano Roll now distinguishes the complete pattern source, the selected clip's editable source window, the clip's occupied Arrangement span, and the current viewport. A long or offset Instrument clip can therefore FIT, zoom, scroll, follow playback, select, move, loop, save, and reopen without exposing or mutating notes outside its source window. Arrangement cursor and loop positions translate through clip placement instead of mixing local source steps with absolute song steps.

Repeated preview drawings are tiled from the source cycle instead of stretched across the occupied clip. Drum Composer retains its intentional 64-step authored source cycle and repeats that material for longer Arrangement occupancy; S06 does not silently convert Drum patterns into unbounded Piano Roll sources. S06-A, its neighboring regressions, and canonical 34/34 Release convergence pass. Remaining evidence is tactile: Shift-drag edge auto-scroll, Arrangement follow/reveal preference, and human confirmation of long Drum repetition.

2026-08-03 - Sequencer Clear Backend Closed

Piano Roll Clear now removes Piano notes and Chord Engine markers only. Drum Composer Clear removes Drum steps only. Both preserve Shared PTN, Clip Local, and Lane Local automation, explicit Pattern duration, clip source windows, placement, repeats, routing, and unrelated musical payloads.

The confirmation dialog pins its Pattern target, reports linked Arrangement and Drum-chain references, and points users to VARIANT when only one placement should change. Already-empty and ownership-refused operations do not create history. A successful clear is one Undo action and one coherent playback publication.

S07-A, neighboring edit/persistence gates, and canonical 35/35 Release convergence pass. Remaining beta evidence is human-facing: judge warning readability, shared-reference wording, cancellation feel, and whether VARIANT guidance is obvious enough during real composition.

2026-08-03 - Shortcut Ownership Roadblock Closed

SpaceAge now routes each keyboard gesture through one command path. The Arranger no longer polls Escape, Copy, or Paste in parallel with normal key dispatch. Focused text/value controls own the keys needed to type and edit values, while passive button focus does not strand global Space transport or project history commands.

Modifier identity is explicit: plain X dismisses supported overlays, while Ctrl+X remains Cut. Piano Roll boundary navigation, transpose, snap-length, and clipboard behavior no longer depend on incidental child focus. Empty Copy preserves the prior internal clipboard, refused/no-op edits preserve Redo, and clearing Arranger selection clears the underlying removal target as well as its highlight.

S08-A, neighboring edit and automation gates, and canonical 36/36 Release convergence pass. Remaining beta evidence is tactile and environmental: real Windows focus propagation, alternate keyboard layouts, shortcut discoverability, and whether musicians find the command vocabulary natural under performance pressure.

2026-08-03 - Arrangement Move Roadblock Closed

Arrangement moves now have one exact contract from pointer preview through processor commit. A successful single, grouped, or mixed clip/Section move preserves stable clip IDs, lane ownership, source length, repeats, shared horizontal offset, and the visible selection. Section-led groups now lift the selected clips as part of the same preview rather than leaving half the object apparently behind.

Clip, Section, and lasso gestures continue scrolling while the pointer remains near an edge. Occupied and out-of-range drops refuse the requested destination instead of searching for a nearby opening; refusal refreshes the canvas to processor truth and preserves the existing Redo branch. Escape cancels the active pointer transaction before clearing selection, and commit callbacks resolve selection from the visible canvas so stale hidden Sections or clips cannot move.

A01-A, neighboring edit/long-clip/shortcut/automation gates, standalone launch, and the complete application self-test pass. Canonical convergence is 37/37. Remaining A01 evidence is human feel: magnetic lift, stationary edge-scroll speed, lasso behavior, snap clarity, refusal wording, and Escape during a physical drag.

2026-08-03 - Whole-Song Playhead Insertion Roadblock Closed

Copy/Paste at an explicit Arrangement playhead now inserts one globally measured song span. Instrument clips, secondary Drum clips, primary Drum-chain blocks, and Section Markers retain their internal timing offsets. Every non-primary lane shifts by the longest copied span, not merely the lanes represented in the clipboard, so a partial chorus selection cannot destroy orchestration alignment on lanes that happen to be silent in that chorus.

Primary Drum time remains chain-owned. The insertion engine can use exact clip boundaries, split preserved Drum gaps, and extend the chain with preserved silence. It deliberately refuses a target inside a real Drum block instead of inventing an unsafe partial-pattern representation. Lane Local automation shifts with song time; Clip Local automation follows copied Instrument and Drum clips. Sections shift coherently and named copied Sections are recreated at the destination.

The complete edit is preflighted before one checkpoint and one deferred Arrangement publication. Capacity, boundary, overlap, and automation-limit refusals change nothing and preserve Redo. A02-A, S08-A, neighboring edit/gap/automation/persistence gates, standalone launch, and the complete application self-test pass. Canonical convergence is 38/38. Remaining A02 evidence is human feel and language: playhead targeting, copied-stack placement, ripple expectations, Drum-edge refusal, and Undo/Redo confidence.

2026-08-03 - Preserve-Time Arrangement Delete Roadblock Closed

Arrangement deletion now has one model-level promise: normal Delete removes selected musical objects without moving later song time. Mixed clip and Section selections share one checkpoint and one deferred Arrangement publication. Instrument clips and secondary Drum clips leave canonical full-duration gaps; primary Drum blocks become same-duration silent chain slots. Section removal changes only the selected markers.

The old overlap-based deletion sweep is gone. Deletion resolves native clips by stable clipId, so an unselected stacked or overlapping clip cannot disappear merely because it occupies part of the selected range. Clip Local automation retires with its clip while Shared Pattern and Lane Local automation remain untouched. Minimum-Section and Drum-gap-capacity refusals preserve project state and Redo.

A03-A proves mixed deletion, primary-versus-secondary Drum ownership, overlap survival, later sentinels, automation ownership, one-step Undo/Redo, refusal history, and save/reopen. A02 playhead insertion, A06 gap replacement, A07 transaction contracts, the complete application self-test, and canonical Release convergence 39/39 remain green. Human beta should now evaluate discoverability and language, not a known timeline-collapse defect.

2026-08-03 - Clean Close And Relaunch Roadblock Closed

Normal shutdown now stops playback and recording, clears sustain and live-note ownership, retires queued future notes, and drains hardware all-notes-off safety messages before MIDI outputs close. The clean-session marker is written only after those runtime owners are quiet. Repeating the shutdown boundary is safe.

Standalone relaunch no longer restores JUCE's implicit wrapper snapshot behind SpaceAge's startup chooser. SpaceAge's Last Project, Blank Project, and Load Project File choices remain authoritative. Hosted VST3 state restoration remains intact and hosted editor reopen does not show standalone startup surfaces.

P08-A passes the contaminated-runtime close/relaunch contract and observes 96 routed safety messages. Project persistence, project-load feedback, golden lifecycle, MIDI closeout, the complete application self-test, and canonical Release convergence 42/42 remain green. Human beta still needs one ordinary close/relaunch, one forced interruption, and one hosted editor reopen on target systems.

2026-08-03 - Synth Patch / Mixer Ownership Closed

Native synth patches now describe instruments only. Their whitelists exclude Mixer gain, pan, mute, output, EQ, Halostar, Reverb, EchoRay, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, and Octave sends. Deliberately hostile Redshift and Propulsion patch files containing those fields are accepted without changing any Mixer sentinel value. Factory preset recall follows the same boundary.

The former Synth Engine EFFECTS tab was renamed VOICE SHAPING. Its drive, bit-reduction, compressor, and transient controls are intrinsic source-tone processors, not lane sends or shared returns. Shared effects remain exclusively controlled from the lane's assigned Mixer channel, preserving predictable stems, orchestration swaps, Scenes, and preset reuse.

Focused X04-A evidence is in reports/x04-synth-patch-mixer-ownership-20260803.out. Canonical Release convergence passes 44/44 named automated gates. Remaining X04 beta evidence is human-facing: verify naming clarity and load several patches while listening to conspicuous Mixer send, gain, and pan settings.

2026-08-03 - Mixer Routing And Persistence Roadblocks Closed

Lane-owned Instruments now reach their chosen Mixer destination through one source-to-Mixer resolver, including preview and MIDI step-input paths that do not supply a destination explicitly. A four-bank hostile matrix proves exact channel metering, hard and partial pan shape, Mute, Solo exclusion, assigned Solo playback, and project route restoration with private sources whose IDs deliberately do not resemble their Mixer Channels.

Mixer bank navigation is now presentation-only. The old implementation erased every Solo when changing banks, and the attachment lifecycle briefly connected one control to two channel parameters, allowing Channel 17 values to overwrite Channel 1. Bank switching now destroys every outgoing attachment before constructing incoming attachments, preserves hidden Solo, and contains no delayed restoration callback capable of overwriting later automation or user intent.

Lane Mute/Solo now masks already-sounding voices on the next audio block, Reset Audio republishes the lane snapshot it changes, and audio-stem planning reports assigned Mixer Mute/Solo truth. This closes the former split where scheduling, live playback, and export metadata could disagree about whether a lane was audible.

Exact-source receipts are reports/x01-mixer-lane-routing-20260803.out, reports/x02-mixer-state-persistence-20260803.out, reports/x01-x02-chain-audio-export-20260803.out, and final canonical convergence 46/46 in reports/release-convergence-x01-x02-final-20260803.out. Physical meter feel, target-device multi-output routing, and host bus layouts remain hands-on evidence.

2026-08-03 Audio Safety And Continuity Closure

The software-contract portion of shared effects, offline render truth, Panic, Reset Audio, master level safety, looping, and page/bank continuity is now closed. Reset Audio now checkpoints once before changing authored state, so the complete rescue operation can be undone. Panic remains runtime-only and is proven not to alter serialized project data.

Deterministic audio fixtures prove transparent limiting below threshold, exact project-volume scaling, a bounded limiter ceiling above threshold, finite output, loop wrapping, and uninterrupted audible processing through repeated UI navigation. Shared-effects and render gates independently verify signal, control response, full-song duration, late material, progress, tails, and lane-isolated stems.

Canonical Release convergence is 47/47 PASS in reports/release-convergence-audio-safety-final-20260803.out. Remaining risk is perceptual and environmental: supported-Windows listening, real host buses, physical audio/MIDI devices, musical limiter judgment, and long-session stress still require Admiral/human beta evidence.

2026-08-03 - Factory Preset Safety Contract Closed

The software no longer samples a handful of convenient presets and assumes the rest are equivalent. I03-C enumerates the actual customer-visible preset menus across thirteen banks and verifies all 619 choices. Every choice must have a unique bank-local name, reject stale indices, recall its visible controls, keep normalized and plain values finite and in range, obey its family's tuning contract, and release all audition voices.

The sweep exposed a real product defect: Lunacy tonal choices could inherit shared vibrato and gate settings from the preset loaded before them. Tonal Keys, Pads, Plucks, Leads, Organs, and Bells now begin from deterministic movement state and use restrained pitch dispersion. Texture and Atmosphere retain broader experimental spread by design rather than by leakage.

I03-A now includes a deliberately heavy five-unison Propulsion chord alongside Redshift, four-unison Liftoff, Glass Moon, Moonshadow, Lunacy, SoundFont, and Quasar. I03-B retains the wet multi-lane Arrangement workload. Canonical Release convergence is 51/51 PASS in reports/release-convergence-preset-safety-final-20260803.out. The remaining roadblock is hands-on musical listening and profiling on minimum/recommended Windows hardware, not missing bank coverage or a known hidden-state defect.

2026-08-03 - Factory Instrument Default And Pitch Roadblock Closed

I01-B now exercises all thirteen self-contained factory engines through a real private Instrument Lane and the first customer-visible preset. It proves visible recall, finite and bounded output, clean voice retirement, and concert-pitch truth for tonal engines. The gate deliberately leaves SoundFont and Quasar to their asset-backed fixtures rather than substituting synthetic evidence for missing files.

The new evidence exposed and fixed a real Lunacy defect: grain position and grain age were both advancing oscillator phase. Grain age is now the sole pitch clock and grain position is a stable source offset, restoring generated and user-loaded material to concert-pitch behavior. Focused evidence is reports/i01b-factory-instrument-default-20260803.out; canonical Release convergence is 52/52 PASS in reports/release-convergence-i01b-20260803.out.

I05-B now executes the production Quasar package builder rather than a hand-authored test package. I08-B subsequently closed the hostile missing/corrupt/truncated/traversal/failed-replacement matrix. Human listening, target-machine profiling, and clean-machine installation remain outside the automated claim.

2026-08-03 - Production Quasar Builder Roadblock Closed

The production builder is now a processor-owned operation shared by the progress window and release test. It captures one immutable source-state snapshot, renders roots, velocity layers, and round robins into a hidden staging directory, writes portable ASCII sample paths and versioned metadata, and publishes only the complete directory. It refuses an existing destination rather than replacing user material.

The deterministic I05-B fixture builds eight zones, verifies exact mapping and filename portability, watches monotonic progress through publication, loads the result immediately into a private lane-owned Quasar Instrument, and proves finite audio. Separate cancellation and existing-target cases prove staging cleanup and destination preservation. The editor also rejects stale completion ownership: a package may finish, but it cannot hijack a source slot whose engine or patch changed while rendering.

Canonical Release convergence is 53/53 PASS in reports/release-convergence-i05b-final-20260803.out. Remaining Quasar risk is experiential and environmental: large musical captures, long-build responsiveness, abrupt process or machine interruption, disk exhaustion/removal, loop craftsmanship, mapping audition, and target-machine performance remain human beta evidence.

2026-08-03 - Hostile Instrument Resource Roadblock Closed

I08-B drives the production SoundFont and Quasar entry points with zero-byte, malformed, truncated, unsupported, unsafe-path, corrupt-audio, and invalid-range candidates. SoundFont files are structurally preflighted before the third-party parser. Quasar manifests and every referenced sample are decoded into a bounded private candidate, with package containment and finite-value checks, before publication.

Rejected replacement attempts preserve the known-good path, metadata, decoded cache generation, engine choice, lane and Instrument IDs, backing slot, Mixer/MIDI routes, and audible output. Later valid replacements still succeed. Cross-engine replacement clears stale state so a saved project cannot reactivate both SoundFont and Quasar. Missing-asset receipts now include a project epoch, preventing an old asynchronous chooser result from mutating a later project that reuses the same logical tuple.

Focused replacement evidence is reports/hostile-instrument-resource-i08b-final.out. The strengthened same-project reload matrix is in reports/hostile-instrument-resource-i08c.out, with canonical convergence 54/54 PASS in reports/release-convergence-i08c-final-20260803.out. Reloading after an already-live SoundFont or Quasar becomes corrupt now retains the exact known-good decoded cache, generation, lane/Instrument ownership, Mixer/MIDI routing, state, and audio while issuing independent repair receipts. Repairing either resource cannot erase the other receipt. Open human evidence remains: real vendor libraries, giant packages, slow/removable media, disk exhaustion, forced interruption, and clear customer wording.

2026-08-03 - Full Shared-Effects Rack Signal Contract Closed

The prior X03 gate proved only Halostar, Reverb, and EchoRay. It now drives every public shared return through the production Mixer send and effect controls: Halostar, Reverb, EchoRay, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, and Octave. Ambience and delay paths must produce a finite audible tail and react to a defining character change; modulation and pitch paths must audibly transform active input, react to their controls, and return to silence.

The stronger proof exposed a production Octave defect: upward modes rectified a zero input into a sustained DC signal, and their distinction was weak. Upward Octave processing now uses one or two rectification stages with per-stage DC blocking, so both choices remain distinct and decay to exact silence. Focused receipts are reports/x03-full-rack-dc-safe-20260803.out and reports/x03-full-rack-audio-safety-20260803.out. Canonical convergence remains 54/54 PASS in reports/release-convergence-x03-full-rack-20260803.out. X03 is closed at the software-contract level; human musical judgment and control-surface review remain open.

2026-08-03 - Live/Offline Full-Arrangement Render Parity Closed

X05-A now proves more than the existence of a plausible WAV. One captured project state is rendered through normal live processBlock playback and through the production offline exporter. The resulting 24-bit file must match the live reference within encoding tolerance while preserving exact tempo-derived duration, late-song material, Mixer routing, an audible Halostar tail, final decay, and monotonic progress.

The same gate begins with a pre-existing destination and proves both successful atomic replacement and cancellation preservation. A cancelled export cannot replace or truncate the musician's prior file. Focused evidence is reports/x05-offline-render-parity-20260803.out; the measured live/offline difference was 0.0000000603 RMS against a 0.00878945 RMS reference. Canonical Release convergence remains 54/54 PASS in reports/release-convergence-x05-parity-20260803.out. X05 is closed at the software-contract level. Human beta still needs to listen to a long real project, cancel it mid-render, and inspect the resulting file and progress experience.

2026-08-06 - Actionable Beta Readiness

Settings > Beta Readiness now turns the authoritative blocker model into an executable QA doorway. The first unresolved blocker is selected by default; any blocker card can be selected; COPY NEXT TEST copies that blocker's current status, next action, detailed test/evidence checklist, source document, and a cold-action receipt. The full checklist and MIDI Health remain available without creating a second readiness ledger.

This closes a workflow gap, not a human-evidence gap. SpaceAge still does not mark listening, hardware, clean-machine, legal, or experiential work complete on the user's behalf. The focused U06-B contract proves eight authoritative blocker identities, seven existing detailed checklist mappings, the hardware-proof handoff, first-open selection, and cold-copy behavior.

2026-08-06 - Build-Scoped Human QA Receipts

Beta Readiness can now record a human-observed PASS, FAIL, or BLOCKED result for the selected authoritative blocker. Results live outside musical projects in a dedicated application-data ledger and are bound to the exact executable by version, architecture, and an abbreviated SHA-256 binary digest. The interface labels these as human-reported evidence; they do not rewrite the blocker model or manufacture release approval.

The ledger is history-preserving and process-locked. Each entry carries a continuous sequence number, the previous entry's fingerprint, and its own SHA-256 fingerprint. SpaceAge re-reads under an interprocess lock before append, writes atomically, keeps a previous-file backup, and verifies the complete chain after publication. A malformed, unsupported, incomplete, or fingerprint-mismatched ledger disables saving instead of overwriting prior evidence. PASS is never preselected. The chain detects accidental edits and ordinary tampering; it is not a signed attestation against an adversary who can rewrite the file and recompute every digest.

Focused U06-C evidence proves deliberate result selection, required BLOCKED reasons, round-trip persistence, build scoping, report generation, malformed/schema/tamper rejection with source-file preservation, fingerprint-chain continuity, and locked append behavior. Release and standalone compilation pass. This does not replace hands-on beta work; it makes that work attributable and reviewable.

2026-08-08 - Beta Roadblock Reconciliation Update

The software architecture remains substantially ahead of the human proof matrix. MIDI_PROJECT_READINESS passes and correctly reports one external-hardware evidence warning. Automation editor containment/readability, Arrangement Automation badge readability, and primary UI state all pass focused Release gates.

The shortest path to a defensible beta is now evidence-driven: real MIDI hardware latency/recording and reconnect proof; one complete Instrument-lane versus Drum-lane hands-on workflow; human listening across engines and large SoundFont/Quasar assets; save/recovery/relink observation; export listening; and a supported-viewport/display-scaling sweep. These checks may expose bounded defects, but no currently known missing architecture requires another wholesale rewrite.

2026-08-08 - Automation History And External-CC Trust Update

Automation Delete/Undo/Redo now has software-level proof across the full Shared Pattern -> Lane Local -> Clip Local inheritance chain. History refresh is changed-row-only, preventing unrelated Undo actions from resending Automation, and the external-output regression distinguishes intentional route-safety traffic from the single effective controller value.

The Automation popup is also display-aware and deterministically reachable at an 1100x800 logical work area. Deletion feedback is brought back into view after a destructive action.

Remaining Automation beta evidence is narrower: hands-on external hardware verification on the supported controller/device matrix; single-point, grouped-point, and range/paint-delete interaction sweeps; and a mixed-DPI human-eye pass. These are bounded proof items rather than missing ownership architecture.

2026-08-08 - Automation Deletion Matrix Closed

Single-point, grouped-point, range/paint, and whole-row deletion now share validated history transactions. Automated proof covers Shared Pattern, Lane Local, and Clip Local ownership; stale and duplicate refusals; reversed and end-exclusive ranges; Undo/Redo; and external-MIDI fallback through the ownership stack.

The remaining work is human evidence rather than missing deletion architecture: judge right-drag erase feel and receipt clarity, exercise real routed hardware during delete/Undo/Redo, and inspect the popup under mixed DPI. External output remains live during drag in bounded callbacks so performers hear the edit; physical-device testing should confirm that this feels immediate without overwhelming slower hardware.

2026-08-08 - First Physical-Controller Proof Has A Direct Doorway

MIDI Health no longer sends every pending launch-proof action directly to a receipt form. Its primary action opens the relevant test surface; the dedicated proof control records PASS, FAIL, or BLOCKED afterward. For the first physical-controller boundary, controller latency and live timing open MIDI Timing, while external pitch/expression proof opens Hardware Passport.

This removes a customer-facing workflow defect but does not close the beta roadblock by assertion. The remaining evidence must still be observed on the exact build: controller and connection path, audio buffer, timing/latency result, simultaneous-device behavior where applicable, and a screenshot/log/receipt reference. Automated MIDI Health, MIDI Closeout, and Settings layout gates pass.

2026-08-08 - Controller Proof Receipt Quality Raised

The first physical-controller roadblock now has a reproducible evidence contract instead of an unstructured blank note. A PASS requires controller identity, USB/DIN connection path, audio buffer, measured or observed latency, compensation/pinning, and timing/recording outcome. Live-timing proof similarly records tempo/scenario, monitor feel, and recorded placement.

This does not claim that hardware testing has happened. It prevents a vague sentence from falsely closing the row and makes USB-versus-DIN comparisons useful when the exact build is tested. Automated receipt persistence, MIDI Health, recording timing, live-input health, and full closeout gates pass.

2026-08-08 - Launch Cockpit Visibility And Truth Update

The release-critical launch card and proof controls are now visible without scrolling in MIDI Health. A compile-time row-budget assertion protects that placement. RPN/NRPN validation opens MIDI Patch, and public wording requests evidence capture rather than implying proof already exists.

Inspect-only MIDI import now reports the same nonmutation contract it actually executes, even when optional metadata, expression, device-review, and SysEx flags are enabled. Focused MIDI receipt, health, closeout, recording, protocol, and import-transaction gates pass.

Remaining nearby software work is bounded: preserve an invalid receipt form instead of closing it, expose painted health status to accessibility clients, and reduce header crowding. Full tempo, meter, and key conductor-map round-trip remains a larger future extension rather than a hidden launch claim.

2026-08-08 - Receipt Entry Data-Loss Defect Closed

An incomplete MIDI QA or launch-proof form no longer disappears with the musician's evidence. Validation now preserves a temporary draft, reports the missing fields, and reopens the populated form. Automation-specific doorway, owner, target indexes, workflow proof, and ownership proof are restored alongside the common receipt fields.

The ledger contract is unchanged: invalid receipts are not saved, Cancel discards the temporary draft, and no MIDI or hardware action occurs. Focused Settings, receipt, MIDI Health, and full MIDI closeout gates pass.

Remaining MIDI Health presentation work is accessibility exposure for painted status and responsive header/readability cleanup. These are visible UI concerns, not hidden receipt persistence defects.

2026-08-08 - MIDI Health Presentation Roadblock Closed

The visible MIDI Health title no longer competes with ten fixed-width controls. Commands occupy a dedicated responsive row, and the release-critical status text is larger with more vertical breathing room. The taller content remains reachable through the tested Settings scroll shell.

Painted cockpit information is also available to accessibility clients as a live group summary. It includes current status, next action, proof completion, verdict, and action guidance, and it refreshes when health or receipt state changes.

Fresh Settings compilation and focused visual, receipt, health, and full MIDI closeout gates pass. The remaining MIDI beta roadblock is real hardware evidence on the exact candidate build, not an unresolved status-panel architecture defect.

2026-08-08 - MIDI Health Presentation Regression Contract Added

The prior readability/accessibility fix now has executable protection. One shared command-row calculator serves production and tests; the Settings gate checks full and compact widths for containment, spacing, usable targets, and stable height. One shared semantic-summary builder serves the visible panel and its accessibility contract.

Fresh Settings compilation and the primary visual, MIDI Health, and full MIDI closeout gates pass. No new software beta blocker was found in this pass. Real-controller evidence, hands-on visual comfort, and the other documented human release observations remain intentionally open.

2026-08-08 - Ordinary Popup Dismissal Contract Closed

The remaining known Escape inconsistency in ordinary JUCE callouts is now centralized. MIDI export preview, MIDI import review, MIDI import receipt, and Piano Roll grid color inherit one focus-aware Escape contract and expose accessible closing guidance. Click-away remains owned by JUCE's callout shell, while deliberately guarded import/package decisions keep their specialized behavior.

Fresh PRIMARY_UI_VISUAL_STATE reports popupEscape=1; Automation, Settings, and complete MIDI closeout gates pass. Human follow-up is now limited to keyboard-focus behavior with Windows Narrator/NVDA and click-away comfort on the supported display-scaling matrix.

2026-08-08 - Long Arrangement Thumbnail Coverage Closed In Software

Dense note and Chord content no longer uses a stride that can omit the final events of a 128/256-step clip. One shared production selector now preserves the entire temporal span while respecting the 32-mark thumbnail budget.

The focused Arrangement visual-state gate proves short-content fidelity, 32 representative entries for dense content, strict ordering, and inclusion of both endpoints. Overview, primary UI, and full MIDI closeout gates pass. Human beta still needs to inspect real long clips at supported scaling for visual taste and legibility; that row remains intentionally open.

2026-08-08 - Thumbnail Integration And Closeout Verdict Strengthened

The long-clip regression now crosses the real presentation boundary: stored notes in a 256-step pattern flow through refreshChain() into the Arrangement canvas, where the test verifies a 32-mark preview containing both the first and final temporal regions. This closes the risk that a correct helper could be disconnected or misused by production code.

The complete MIDI closeout verdict now also requires the existing lane instrument presentation, Add Clip placement, production clip preview, Mixer reassignment, and MIDI policy presentation contracts. All report true in the passing closeout run.

The factory-instrument sweep passes for Internal Engine, Classic Machines, Physical Modeling, Redshift, all three Drum Labs, Propulsion 1, Liftoff, Glass Moon, Moonshadow, Lunacy, and TG-55 AWM2. This is software evidence for recall, finite output, note release, and concert pitch where applicable. Human listening, visual thumbnail taste, hardware timing, and candidate-build endurance remain open release evidence rather than hidden software claims.

2026-08-08 - Active Arrangement Loop WAV Export Closed In Software

The render menu now distinguishes Render Full Arrangement Audio to WAV from Render Active Arrangement Loop to WAV. Full export remains deliberately immune to playback loops. Loop export snapshots its start and end before the file chooser/worker begins, so later loop movement or deletion cannot mutate an in-progress file.

The production renderer starts at the captured step and computes musical duration from only the requested overlap with the saved tempo-multiplier chain. It then stops transport and preserves the existing five-second effects-tail phase. CHAIN_AUDIO_EXPORT proves exact duration, correct range-relative content, 24-bit stereo output, monotonic progress, invalid-range destination preservation, full-render parity, cancellation safety, and lane-stem continuity. Human beta still needs to listen to a real loop render and judge the progress/cancellation experience.

Next bounded software risk: source-backed Liftoff and Lunacy patch recall should be tested with a portable temporary WAV and a missing-source negative case so a successful patch-load receipt cannot conceal an unavailable oscillator/granular source.

2026-08-08 - Liftoff And Lunacy Portable Patch Contract Closed In Software

Source-backed patch loading is now transactional. SpaceAge validates a decodable bundled or original WAV before changing the engine, parameters, source, patch identity, Undo history, or audition state. A missing or unreadable source refuses the load and preserves the currently sounding Instrument instead of creating a new-name/old-source hybrid.

Saving over a patch whose active source already lives in its own _Sources folder no longer deletes that source. Portable bundled sources are preferred over stale or corrupt originals. INSTRUMENT_PATCH_LIFECYCLE proves these contracts for both Liftoff and Lunacy; FACTORY_INSTRUMENT_DEFAULT, AUDIO_SAFETY_CONTINUITY, MIDI_CLOSEOUT, and RECOVERY_WORKFLOW remain green.

Remaining bounded follow-up: project-level missing-source repair should use Instrument-semantic Liftoff/Lunacy labels and refresh stale repair receipts after engine-specific Load Source or Clear Source actions. Human beta must still move a real patch bundle between folders/machines and confirm the messages and audible result.

2026-08-08 - Project-Level Liftoff/Lunacy Repair Closed In Software

Project restore and Library repair now distinguish Liftoff oscillator sources and Lunacy granular sources from generic velocity layers. Private Arrangement Instruments use Instrument-facing descriptions; actual Pads retain Pad-facing descriptions. A stored file that exists but cannot be decoded remains honestly unavailable.

Load Source and Clear Source immediately rescan the repair ledger, refresh the source label, and refresh Library presentation. The expanded MISSING_ASSET_REPAIR gate proves all seven dependency classes, folder repair, ambiguous-name protection, stale-receipt rejection, audible recovery, save/reopen, direct source replacement, and intentional clearing. Patch lifecycle, recovery, factory defaults, and MIDI closeout remain green.

Remaining release evidence is human: open a real project with moved Liftoff and Lunacy sources, verify the wording and relink workflow, intentionally clear a source, and confirm the warning disappears without affecting unrelated assets.

2026-08-08 - Complete Project Private-Source Gap Closed In Software

Complete Project previously enumerated the 64 visible Drum Pad slots when collecting sample assets. That omitted source WAVs owned by private Arrangement Instruments, so a project using Liftoff or Lunacy could produce a seemingly successful package that was not actually self-contained.

Asset collection now covers every source slot. Before staging, SpaceAge rescans dependencies and refuses publication with a repair-or-clear instruction if any referenced asset is unavailable. The focused regression removes Lunacy, SoundFont, and Quasar dependencies together and proves publication refuses the three missing resources. Healthy staging redacts ordinary and Quasar archive namespaces, removes every original Pad/Liftoff/Lunacy/SoundFont/Quasar dependency, imports five remapped references, binds all restored paths below the destination, and renders all four Instrument engines with finite nonzero audio. PROJECT_ARCHIVE passes alongside MISSING_ASSET_REPAIR, SOUNDFONT, RECOVERY_WORKFLOW, HOSTILE_INSTRUMENT_RESOURCE, and MIDI_CLOSEOUT.

The imported project also survives the next ordinary Save and Reopen in a fresh processor. Every restored asset remains below the imported root, the repair ledger stays empty, and Liftoff, Lunacy, SoundFont, and Quasar render finite nonzero audio again. PROJECT_PERSISTENCE, GOLDEN_PROJECT_LIFECYCLE, RECOVERY_WORKFLOW, MISSING_ASSET_REPAIR, and MIDI_CLOSEOUT remain green.

Remaining release evidence is human: move a real complete-project package to a clean location or machine after removing its original Pad, Liftoff, Lunacy, SoundFont, and Quasar resources; confirm immediate playback and correct presets/packages; save the imported project normally; close and reopen it; then confirm identical playback and an empty repair ledger.

2026-08-09 - Complete Project Content Integrity Closed In Software

Complete Project now validates resources by activating a staged project in a fresh processor, both before export and against temporary extracted paths before import is committed. Existing-but-corrupt audio, SoundFont, and Quasar dependencies no longer pass on filename existence alone.

Folder repair now reconnects archive-prefixed audio and Quasar names to their original source names, and manual relink exposes FLAC. Mixed-provenance recovery is covered end to end: a healthy archive-imported source remains bound and audible while one separately relocated external source is the only repair receipt; targeted repair, ordinary save, fresh reopen, and both audio paths pass.

Remaining release evidence is human and cross-machine: export/import a real mixed project on a clean machine, deliberately damage a copied package resource, verify refusal wording, repair an imported project from its pre-export source folder, and listen after recovery plus ordinary save/reopen.

2026-08-09 - Archive Publication and VST3 Wrapper Evidence

Closed in software

• Portable archive export now imports and validates the completed temporary ZIP before replacing an existing destination. A regression mutates a referenced resource after planning and proves the write fails while the previous destination remains byte-for-byte intact.
• R03-A now scans the exact VST3 bundle, instantiates it at 44.1 and 48 kHz, proves MIDI-driven audio, round-trips plugin state, and opens, closes, and reopens the editor in an isolated host process. The same gate runs on the copied staging bundle before packaging.

Still open

• R02-A remains blocked because the release asset-clearance ledger currently reports 1 cleared asset and 16 blocked assets. This is a deliberate release-policy stop, not an audio-engine regression.
• R03 human host validation remains open for named DAWs, host project save/reopen, host automation, transport, and device-specific behavior. The automated wrapper gate narrows that work but does not replace it.

2026-08-10 - Settings Destination Accessibility Narrowed In Software

U04-B now opens all 14 customer-visible Settings destinations twice in opposing order at the minimum supported viewport. In addition to stable route identity, scrolling-shell reachability, focus, Escape dismissal, and cold project state, the gate recursively audits every visible interactive child.

The first strengthened run found 16 distinct unnamed controls across MIDI Timing, MIDI Setup, Hardware Passports, and SysEx Vault. Those production controls now expose precise titles and explanatory tooltips. The fresh result is 28/28 launches and 306/306 controls with valid containment, usable targets, and accessible names. Settings Root, Primary UI, Automation Editor, and full MIDI Closeout regressions also pass.

The remaining U04 evidence is human: inspect the Settings destinations at supported Windows scaling values, verify keyboard navigation and focus order, exercise a screen reader, and judge whether labels and explanations are understandable in context.

2026-08-10 - MIDI Health Responsive Command Deck

The remaining MIDI Health header-crowding item is closed at the software-contract level. Ten commands now occupy two readable rows, the panel fits the supported minimum display without horizontal scrolling, and its focus order matches the visible task sequence. Settings reachability, MIDI Health, complete MIDI closeout, and primary UI state remain green. Human scaling and wording review remain part of beta evidence.

2026-08-10 - MIDI Hardware Setup Guide Responsive Command Deck

The Setup Guide no longer relies on a ten-button fixed-width ribbon. Its navigation and cold-copy actions occupy a five-column, two-row deck that remains readable at the supported minimum display, fits without horizontal scrolling, and follows row-major keyboard order. Template selectors and consequential APPLY/TEST/UNDO controls retain a distinct subsequent focus group.

Fresh Settings compilation and destination, visual-state, MIDI Health, and full MIDI closeout gates pass. This closes a software-facing Setup Guide readability risk. Hands-on Windows scaling, screen-reader traversal, and physical-device workflow comfort remain human beta evidence.

2026-08-10 - Persistent Header Readability And Truthfulness

The software-facing persistent-header roadblock is closed. Product identity is no longer confused with navigation, primary tabs retain a tested compact font floor, long status receipts preserve their full semantic value, live chord text exposes the complete spelling, and standalone window controls are omitted from hosted plug-ins. MAX/RESTORE now reflects the current standalone state. The original header footprint is preserved, and all primary visual-state, Settings, MIDI Health, and MIDI closeout gates pass.

Remaining beta evidence is human rather than architectural: inspect very long project names and dense altered-chord spellings at 1100 x 800 and mixed Windows scaling, then verify standalone maximize/restore behavior on single- and multi-monitor systems.

2026-08-10 - Project Identity, Editing Context, And Backdrop Hierarchy

Three bounded UI trust risks are closed at the software-contract level. Long project names retain their full identity, sequencer editing receipts no longer collapse clip/loop/Step Input context into a fixed 104-pixel slot, and Effects card feedback now paints above the animated starfield. The visible allocations remain responsive without increasing toolbar or header height.

PRIMARY_UI_VISUAL_STATE passes with chromeText=1, backdropLayering=1, and editingContext=1; Effects, Library, Settings, and complete MIDI closeout regressions also pass. Remaining evidence is human: inspect unusually long project and clip names, all-loop-bank context, starfield contrast, and typography at supported mixed-DPI scaling.

2026-08-10 - Lane Instrument Choice And Compact Receipts Narrowed

Closed in software:

• Add Lane and lane reassignment use one authoritative tonal Instrument inventory.
• Ready-to-play engines are separated from source-backed SoundFont and Quasar choices.
• Source-backed lane creation reports the exact next loading action.
• Classic Synth patch identity remains readable and semantically complete at 1800x1000 and 1100x800.
• Mixer dB receipts are wide enough for their actual painted value and remain isolated from M/S/Output controls.
• Primary UI, native synth, Mixer, Arrangement overview/recording, and complete MIDI closeout gates pass.

Remaining beta evidence is human: judge wording and visual comfort at 100%, 125%, and 150% Windows scaling, then create one ready-to-play lane, one SoundFont lane, and one Quasar lane and confirm that the next action is obvious without prior knowledge.

2026-08-10 - Pad Destination and Source-Backed Instrument Trust

• Closed software gap: all 64 Pad CREATE controls now identify their exact Pad and current source instead of publishing one generic accessibility name.
• Closed software gap: fresh SoundFont and Quasar assignment now use one next-action authority in both Add Lane and Replace Instrument workflows.
• Automated evidence: PRIMARY_UI_VISUAL_STATE passes with padSynthA11y=1 and source-backed guidance coverage.
• Ownership evidence: complete MIDI_CLOSEOUT passes fresh Instrument replacement without changing clips, Mixer/MIDI routing, live-input target, editor target, or round-trip state.
• Remaining evidence is human: Narrator/NVDA wording and focus feel across Pad banks, plus real source loading after SoundFont/Quasar reassignment.

2026-08-10 - Pad Vault Reachability And Empty Drum Ownership Closed

• Closed P1 ownership risk: opening the Instrument control on an empty drum lane can no longer expose or mutate a pattern retained from another drum lane. Arrangement context remains unchanged and the status receipt directs the customer to Add Clip.
• Closed U07 reachability risk: Pad Vault categories with more than 40 saved sounds now scroll; a 64-item fixture proves first, middle, and final choices remain visible, keyboard reachable, and exactly actionable.
• Corrected Library guidance: Repair Missing Assets now accurately includes referenced audio and Instrument sources.
• Repair Missing Assets now offers confirmed per-asset and clear-all Clear Without Repair actions. Clearing removes the actual stored source reference rather than suppressing the warning, so saving and reopening keeps the project intentionally clear. Automated coverage includes velocity layers, one-shots, loops, SoundFonts, Quasar packages, Liftoff/Lunacy sources, and Redshift custom cycles, plus stale popup-receipt rejection.
• Automated evidence: PRIMARY_UI_VISUAL_STATE, Instrument UI closeout slice, LIBRARY_LAYOUT, MISSING_ASSET_REPAIR, and complete MIDI_CLOSEOUT pass.
• Remaining evidence is human: inspect Pad Vault scrolling/focus at mixed Windows scaling and confirm the empty-drum-lane instruction feels immediate in the Arrangement workflow.

2026-08-10 - Pad Vault Move Atomicity And Add Clip Editing Ownership Closed

• Closed P1 data-integrity risk: Pad Vault Move now validates the source, stages and verifies the destination, commits it uniquely, and deletes the source last. Failed writes or source deletion preserve the original and cannot report false success.
• Closed P1 editing-ownership risk: adding an Instrument clip now commits its pattern and lane Instrument as the immediate Piano Roll editing target, even when another pattern was previously selected.
• Automated evidence: PAD_VAULT_TRANSACTION passes all refusal, rollback, and success paths. Complete MIDI_CLOSEOUT passes arrangementClipPlacement=1; PRIMARY_UI_VISUAL_STATE and LIBRARY_LAYOUT remain green.
• Remaining evidence is human: move a real saved Pad sound between categories, then add an Instrument clip and draw its first note immediately without any intermediate selection click.

2026-08-10 - Atomic MIDI Export And Hardware Route Ownership Closed

• Closed P1 file-safety risk: all current MIDI export surfaces stage, flush, reparse, and atomically commit output instead of deleting an existing destination before the replacement is proven.
• Closed P1 route-ownership risk: selecting or changing a lane's hardware output no longer silently changes HARDWARE ONLY into INTERNAL + HARDWARE or otherwise rewrites the explicit route target.
• Automated evidence: MIDI_EXPORT_ATOMIC_REPLACE proves three failure rollbacks plus a valid replacement; MIDI_EXPORT, MIDI_HEALTH, and complete MIDI_CLOSEOUT pass, including outputRouteOwnership=1.
• Remaining evidence is human: overwrite a real existing MIDI file, disconnect or rename a hardware output, and confirm the lane's target wording remains truthful while readiness guidance explains the unavailable device.

2026-08-10 - Source-Backed Save And Variant Provenance Closed

• Closed P1 package-integrity risk: Liftoff and Lunacy save-over now stage and decode a non-conflicting bundled WAV, publish the patch document last, and retire the old bundled source only after successful commit. Simulated failures preserve both old files exactly and leave no staged source behind.
• Closed P1 presentation-integrity risk: duplicated Instruments and lane Variants now inherit the patch name, engine, modified state, and comparison fingerprint instead of presenting modified audio as a saved factory or user patch.
• Automated evidence: INSTRUMENT_PATCH_LIFECYCLE, PAD_VAULT_TRANSACTION, SYNTH_CONTROL_QUALITY, and complete MIDI_CLOSEOUT pass. The real lane workflow reports laneInstrumentVariantWorkflow=1.
• Remaining evidence is human: perform same-named source replacement with real Liftoff/Lunacy WAVs and inspect PATCH | Name * across a real Redshift Variant at supported Windows scaling.

2026-08-10 - Fresh Instrument Lane Startup Contract Closed

• Closed P1 first-use trust risk: Add Instrument Lane now finishes the actual engine state before publishing a clean patch identity, so a new lane does not falsely appear modified.
• Closed model/label mismatch: Callisto Marimba now starts with the tuned-bar Physical model it promises; TG-55's honest startup name is Io Bell.
• Automated evidence: FACTORY_INSTRUMENT_DEFAULT exercises the real Arrangement lane-creation path for all eight ready-to-play native engines and verifies engine, pitch, patch label, clean marker, finite output, peak safety, and voice release.
• Bank evidence: FACTORY_PRESET_SAFETY passes all 619 presets with deterministic fingerprint 4d2ddc400437c5d6; synth-control, audio-continuity, MIDI-closeout, and MIDI-health gates remain green.
• Remaining evidence is human: add each native Instrument from the Instrument Bay and judge whether its first sound and name feel musically useful and immediately understandable.

2026-08-10 - Dense MIDI Guidance Readability Closed In Software

• Closed U01/U03 software gap: the Hardware Setup Guide no longer compresses actionable labels, status badges, template proof, and safety guidance into 7-to-9-point text.
• Closed adjacent preflight gap: MIDI Sync trust, next-action, last-observed, empty-state, and safety receipts now share a tested 10-point minimum.
• The established Settings scroll shell absorbs the additional vertical depth; panel width remains fixed and no horizontal scrolling was introduced.
• Automated evidence: SETTINGS_ROOT_LAYOUT reports both typography contracts; 28/28 Settings destinations and 306/306 named controls remain reachable. Primary UI, Automation, MIDI Health, and complete MIDI closeout gates pass.
• Remaining evidence is human: visual comfort and scrolling judgment at 100%, 125%, and 150% Windows scaling with unusually long device and profile names.

2026-08-10 - Principal Dialog Presentation Closed In Software

• Clear, rename, and Instrument-change dialogs can no longer silently fall back to a generic Windows/JUCE visual language because their owner or look-and-feel is explicit.
• Alert palette and typography now have a focused regression contract: PRIMARY_UI_VISUAL_STATE reports alertPresentation=1.
• Sequencer clear scope, Settings layout, Automation layout, MIDI Health, and complete MIDI closeout remain green.
• No new software blocker was discovered. Remaining release evidence is still human mixed-DPI inspection and the existing rights/provenance review, not an alert-system defect.

2026-08-10 - U07 Dialog Ownership Closed Across Discovered Workflows

• Ownerless JUCE informational dialogs were removed from the discovered customer-facing paths. The shared helper now requires a SpaceAge component.
• Consequential secondary confirmations explicitly inherit the originating SpaceAge panel, including MIDI import, hardware timing/recall/tests, SysEx/Passport removal, Pad Vault, and Pad Bank replacement.
• Custom evidence and rename windows explicitly use the active SpaceAge look-and-feel.
• Primary UI, all Settings destinations, MIDI Health, and complete MIDI closeout pass. No new software blocker was found.
• Remaining U07 evidence is human wording and mixed-DPI line-wrap review, not an unresolved presentation-ownership defect.

2026-08-10 - U08 First-Song Path Is Now Discoverable In-App

• Closed software gap: About is no longer an artwork-only surface with an invisible whole-panel website action.
• START SONG GUIDE presents six steps from startup through lane/clip creation, writing, arranging, mixing, saving, and rendering; WEBSITE is now a separate deliberate action.
• The guide names the actual SpaceAge controls and publishes equivalent screen-reader text.
• STARTUP_DIALOG_LAYOUT exercises the real buttons at 1800x1000 and 1100x800, verifies geometry, workflow vocabulary, Back navigation, and Escape dismissal.
• U08 remains open for a first-time human to complete the path from a blank project and identify any undocumented or misleading transition.

2026-08-10 - Startup Template Dead End Removed

• Closed software gap: startup no longer advertises a template action that only reports COMING SOON.
• BROWSE STARTING POINTS now reaches the existing Library catalog of ready-made kits and Instruments and presents a concrete next action.
• Automated evidence invokes the production callback and verifies truthful vocabulary, destination visibility, enabled content, and status feedback. Library, primary UI, shortcut, project-load feedback, MIDI Health, and complete MIDI closeout gates pass from the rebuilt Release test binary.
• Complete project templates remain a future Library category, not a beta-facing false promise.
• Remaining U08 evidence is human: follow every startup branch with mouse and keyboard at supported Windows scaling and judge whether each destination is self-explanatory.

2026-08-10 - Arrangement Lane Placeholder Commands Removed

• Closed software gap: L and V no longer advertise seven disabled coming soon actions inside working lane menus.
• Structure, Signal/MIDI, and View now present only executable production commands; their badge tooltips match those exact capabilities.
• Automated evidence opens all three real panels and rejects disabled, coming soon, or unavailable rows.
• Primary UI, Arrangement lane-state and overview, keyboard shortcuts, and complete MIDI closeout pass.
• The removed ideas remain valid backlog candidates. They return only when their behavior, project persistence, Undo, accessibility, and regression contracts exist.
• Remaining U07 evidence is human copy and interaction review at supported Windows scaling.

2026-08-10 - Library Starting Point Identity Corrected

• Closed software gap: the physical marimba and staccato-bass Starting Point callbacks were presented under misleading customer labels.
• Library now presents CHROMATIC MARIMBA and STACCATO BASS, matching the physical models each production callback configures.
• LIBRARY_LAYOUT protects exact labels, live callbacks, group ownership, geometry, focus order, and action state at roomy and compact viewports.
• Startup, primary UI, Library, MIDI Health, protocol, automation, and complete MIDI-closeout gates pass.
• Remaining evidence is human audition of both banks; no known software blocker remains on this Library identity path.

2026-08-10 - First-Party Build Signal Improved

• Removed the bounded first-party warning set encountered during the Release rebuild: deprecated JUCE text measurement, one implicit synthesis conversion, three activity-state shadowing cases, and one offline-render constant shadowing JUCE state.
• Focused owner tests and complete MIDI closeout pass; the cleanup did not alter project format, parameter behavior, or customer workflow.
• This closes diagnostic noise, not a customer-facing blocker. Open beta blockers remain the governed human hardware, listening, display-scaling, installer, host, and legal evidence listed in Release Readiness.

2026-08-11 - Complete Song-Form Contract Added

• Closed an evidence gap: only Modern Pop had previously exercised the production Form controls.
• All eight advertised forms now prove exact Section geometry, untouched Drum and Instrument clips, no-op repeat application, single-step Undo, and save/reopen persistence.
• Arrangement overview, project persistence, primary UI, Arranger transaction, and complete MIDI-closeout gates pass.
• No production defect was found. Remaining evidence is human musical judgment of the form catalog and its wording, not an unresolved data-integrity blocker.

2026-08-11 - Library Starting Point Audio Contract Added

• Closed an evidence gap: Library regression previously proved Starting Point labels and callbacks existed, but did not prove the resulting banks produced valid audio.
• The new gate invokes all nine production actions, validates 528 configured pad slots, confirms expected synthesis families and labels, and renders finite non-silent output from every collection.
• The 16-slot Drunk Color Wheel scope is explicitly distinguished from the eight 64-slot collections rather than being misreported as incomplete.
• All neighboring factory-preset, audio-safety, Library, primary-UI, and complete MIDI-closeout gates pass.
• No production defect was found. Human audition remains necessary for musical quality and loudness judgment; no known software blocker remains on this path.

2026-08-11 - Native Synths Gain Three-Path Audible Proof

The native synth control contract now measures three independent audible paths for each covered tonal engine rather than accepting registration, persistence, or one representative control as proof of musical function. The added matrix covers Propulsion unison, Liftoff spectral warp, Glass Moon brightness, Moonshadow brightness, Lunacy grain size, Physical Model damping, and TG-55 character.

SYNTH_CONTROL_QUALITY passes all seven additions (thirdPaths=1111111) alongside 710/710 visible control geometry, interaction, accessibility, Undo, Redshift filter/waveform response, and retired-parameter absence. FACTORY_PRESET_SAFETY remains green for all 619 presets with fingerprint 4d2ddc400437c5d6; AUDIO_SAFETY_CONTINUITY and complete MIDI_CLOSEOUT also pass.

This narrows the risk that a customer-visible knob is technically connected but practically ineffective. It does not replace human audition of useful travel, tonal taste, register behavior, or chord safety. No customer build was produced in this pass.

2026-08-14 - Readiness Estimate After Project-Adoption Closeout

These estimates are anchored to exit criteria rather than feature count. SpaceAge's architecture and backend are approximately 85-90% of the way to the intended product shape. A credible closed beta is approximately 70-75% ready. The stricter standard of a world-class commercial microDAW is approximately 60-70% complete because that standard includes prolonged human sessions, hardware coverage, installation, accessibility, documentation, musical audition, and trust under failure rather than only implemented features.

With scope held steady and no major new architectural defect, the working estimate is 2-4 focused weeks to a credible closed beta and 6-10 focused weeks to a public beta. These are planning ranges, not promises. The largest remaining uncertainty is human evidence: large-session playback and project adoption, low-latency multi-device MIDI, instrument/effect usefulness across registers, DPI and readability coverage, installer/signing/update behavior, legal asset clearance, and recovery from interrupted or missing-resource workflows.

The latest adoption work reduces one systemic risk: a loaded project now publishes one completed sequencer generation instead of repeatedly exposing incomplete chain/lane/clip/Section state. Focused persistence, load-feedback, asset-repair, lifecycle, and MIDI gates pass. Dense real-song loading and immediate first playback remain mandatory human beta checks.

2026-08-11 - Mode-Dependent Synth Controls Gain Direct Audio Proof

• Eight remaining context-sensitive controls now have rendered-audio contracts, including stereo direction, transient character, fixed-frequency mode, scan freeze, and model-specific FM.
• The focused gate reports contextAware=11111111; no disconnected DSP path was found.
• Lunacy now says FREEZE SCAN, avoiding the false promise of an audio-buffer freeze.
• Remaining evidence is human audition of useful ranges and long-phrase behavior. No customer build was produced.

2026-08-11 - Synth Modes, Pan, And TG-55 Recall Made Truthful

• Propulsion's three oscillator pans now use independent constant-power placement and no longer influence unison phase or receive a second aggregate pan offset.
• TG-55 factory choices now reset all nine sound-shaping macros; a prior edited sound cannot leak into a newly selected factory voice. User patch files remain full-state recalls.
• Classic Machines no longer presents inactive FM controls on analog/percussion models. Glass Moon visibly disables the tuning field not consumed by the current Ratio/Fixed mode while preserving its value.
• Focused evidence passes Synth Control Quality, all 619 factory presets, audio safety/continuity, MIDI Health, and complete MIDI Closeout.
• Remaining beta evidence is human audition of pan feel and TG-55 defaults. No known software blocker remains in these corrected paths, and no customer build was produced.

2026-08-18 - Chord-Lane Extraction Contract Closed

• Added direct executable proof for both COPY and MOVE chord-extraction workflows.
• The contract verifies optional Piano Roll note copying, source-content preservation/removal, immediate-below lane placement, a distinct unused Mixer channel, a private destination instrument, and payload remapping to that instrument.
• ARRANGER_EDIT_CONTRACT, PROJECT_PERSISTENCE, MIXER_LANE_ROUTING, and KEYBOARD_SHORTCUT_WORKFLOW pass.
• Remaining evidence is human workflow review of the dialog wording and musical results; no known data-ownership or routing blocker remains on this path. No customer build was produced.

2026-08-18 - Audio Hot-Path Verification

• Mixer mute, solo, output, and bus routing are now snapshotted once per audio block instead of repeatedly reading invariant state for every rendered sample.
• Neutral transient and compressor controls no longer execute nonlinear DSP whose contribution would be exactly zero.
• The Release polyphony matrix passes all eight covered tonal and sampler engines at approximately 7.7-12.4% of one real-time core for its eight-note fixture.
• The effects-heavy eight-pad smoke test passes at approximately 38% synthetic real-time load; audio safety, continuity, routing, and every shared-effect signal contract also pass.
• These measurements are regression evidence, not minimum-system specifications. Hardware profiling and long-session human playback remain beta requirements. No customer build was produced.

2026-08-18 - Consolidated Beta Contract Sweep

• Re-ran the principal release contracts without rebuilding or producing a customer executable: project persistence, recovery, Mixer lane routing and state, Arranger editing and movement, automation restore and deletion, synth control quality, shared-effects audio, long-form MIDI recording timing, and complete MIDI closeout all pass.
• The MIDI timing fixture proves first-measure capture, 64/128/256-step recording, four-measure note and expression placement, loop-edge splitting, count-in boundaries, multi-controller ownership, direct-device generation handoff, sustain/channel-mode handling, and explicit rejection beyond a clip boundary.
• Re-ran every principal customer-facing layout contract: primary chrome, Settings roots and destinations, Arrangement overview/lane/recording states, effects details, MIDI transfer, automation editor, Mixer, startup dialog, and Library all fit their tested roomy and constrained viewports with complete control coverage.
• No concrete production failure was exposed, so no speculative DSP or UI change was made. In particular, further per-sample voice caching was rejected for this pass because it could weaken sample-accurate live control or alter effect/random history.
• Remaining beta evidence is now predominantly human or environmental: real MIDI hardware latency and multi-device sessions, musical audition and useful-range judgment, dense-project interaction feel, supported Windows DPI/scaling inspection, render listening/alignment, interrupted-save and missing-asset exercises with real projects, installer/signing/update behavior, and final asset/license review.
• No customer build was produced.

2026-08-18 - Embedded Artwork Inventory Reconciled

• Replaced the stale four-image release manifest with the exact 45-image startup rotation currently embedded by CMake, plus the current About artwork.
• Every embedded path now has an exact SHA-256 entry and the clearance audit reports embedded=57 tracked=57 hashLocked=57.
• Updated the resource-privacy and release-hygiene contracts to validate the complete numbered rotation instead of the retired four-image startup set; both gates now pass.
• This closes the technical inventory gap that could otherwise allow an unreviewed or obsolete splash image into a package.
• Commercial release remains deliberately blocked: only the Inter font is cleared, while 56 first-party artwork and TG-55 assets still require explicit ownership or redistribution evidence.
• No customer build was produced.

2026-08-18 - Human Legal Records Reconciled With Embedded Artwork

• Corrected the release action plan and legal signoff, which still described the retired five/six-image splash collection despite the machine-readable manifest containing the complete 45-image startup rotation and About artwork.
• Release hygiene now derives the 46-file first-party artwork scope from Resources/ReleaseAssetClearance.json and rejects stale signoff wording, missing range endpoints, a missing About reference, or an incorrect hash-bound count.
• This closes a release-process integrity defect; it does not assert ownership. All 46 artwork files and 10 TG55 files remain blocked until the required human evidence is recorded.
• No customer build was produced.

2026-08-19 - Musical Beta Session Checklist And Contract Recheck

• Added docs/Beta_Session_Smoke_Checklist.md, a 30-45 minute end-to-end session covering launch, project adoption, composition, contextual MIDI recording, editing, arrangement, mixing, automation, render, and recovery.
• Each human workflow points to the existing governed readiness IDs and includes a compact failure receipt, so a reported regression can preserve its exact page, lane, clip, Mixer route, playhead position, and recovery behavior.
• Rechecked audio safety and continuity, 64/128/256-step MIDI timing, multi-controller ownership, Arrangement movement, synth control quality, shared-effects signal, project persistence, Mixer routing, automation restore/deletion, primary UI state, and Settings root layout. All focused contracts pass.
• The first automation verification command used a nonexistent combined gate name; the correct independent AUTOMATION_RESTORE and AUTOMATION_DELETE_MATRIX gates were then run and passed. No production defect was involved.
• Remaining beta blockers are still human and environmental: measured hardware MIDI latency, real multi-device sessions, long-form musical audition, DPI/readability inspection, real render listening, interruption and missing-resource exercises, installer/host validation, and legal clearance. No customer build was produced.

2026-08-19 - Release Candidate Status Feedback

• The consolidated release-candidate command now reports each major check as it begins instead of remaining silent through the full audit.
• Interactive progress covers hygiene, JUCE identity, assets, legal signoff, the 72-item ledger, human evidence, clean-checkout receipts, and binary identity. -AsJson remains machine-clean.
• Parser validation and both release-ledger contracts pass. The complete report remains honestly NOT READY: 50/72 checks pass and 22 require human or environmental evidence; artwork/TG55 rights, exact-commit convergence, legal signoff, and final artifacts are also open.
• No product code or customer build changed in this pass.

2026-08-19 - Actionable Human Evidence Queue

• tools/get-release-candidate-status.ps1 -Detailed now expands all open human and environmental checks into their authoritative ID, evidence class, owner, required action, and required receipt.
• The queue is derived from Resources/ReleaseHumanEvidencePlan.json; it cannot silently disagree with the open rows in the fixed 72-item readiness ledger.
• Default interactive output remains compact. JSON now includes the complete structured evidence entries so later release dashboards can consume the same source of truth.
• This improves execution of the remaining work but does not mark any human check complete and does not produce a customer build.

2026-08-19 - Release Status Contract

• Added tools/test-release-candidate-status.ps1 to cross-check the consolidated release report against Git and the authoritative 72-item readiness ledger.
• The contract requires exact agreement on readiness totals and open IDs, complete actionable human-evidence coverage, absolute canonical artifact paths, honest binary presence, at least one next action while blocked, and every packaging invariant before READY TO PACKAGE may be reported.
• The status JSON and interactive report now expose total audit duration, making unexpectedly slow release checks measurable without weakening their coverage.
• This protects the remaining human test phase from a contradictory dashboard. It does not close any of the 22 human or environmental checks and does not produce a customer build.

2026-08-19 - Ordered Human Evidence Runbook

• The governed human-evidence plan now divides all 22 open readiness rows into six ordered phases: musical/UI session, uncoached first run, physical MIDI lab, external hosts/interchange, resilience, and final rights/claims signoff.
• Every generated candidate evidence pack now includes RUNBOOK.md, which places related checks together so one song, controller setup, host session, or recovery environment can support several independent receipts without weakening their evidence requirements.
• Contract tests reject missing, duplicated, unknown, or out-of-order phase assignments and verify that the generated runbook links every governed receipt exactly once.
• The evidence-pack round trip, artifact-tamper rejection, candidate-status contract, archive contract, and release-hygiene audit all pass. Readiness remains honestly 50/72 with 22 human or environmental checks open. No customer build was produced.

2026-08-19 - Safe Human Evidence Entry And Approval

• Candidate testers no longer need to hand-edit results.json. tools/set-release-human-evidence-result.ps1 records PASS, FAIL, or BLOCKED observations and rejects unknown IDs, missing evidence, unsafe paths, or a BLOCKED result without a reason.
• Reviewer approval remains a separate action through tools/approve-release-human-evidence-result.ps1. Only a complete PASS with surviving in-pack evidence can be approved.
• Recording or changing any tester observation automatically clears earlier reviewer approval, preventing stale approval from surviving changed evidence.
• The generated runbook now documents the exact commands. No readiness row is closed automatically and no customer build was produced.

Reviewed Human Evidence Ledger Handoff (2026-08-19)

• tools/apply-release-human-evidence-review.ps1 is the only intended bridge from a reviewed evidence report to the canonical readiness ledger.
• It requires an explicit release owner, supports -WhatIf, and refuses stale commits, dirty tracked source, altered evidence, duplicate IDs, and rows that are not approved PASS results.
• It updates only the reviewed open IDs and writes a separate hash-bound ledger-application.json audit receipt. Review reports remain immutable.
• No readiness row was advanced by this implementation work. The 22 open human/environmental checks still require their real candidate evidence.

2026-08-19 - Human Evidence Application Contract

• Added tools/test-release-human-evidence-application.ps1, which runs the actual ledger mutation inside a disposable Git repository rather than stopping at -WhatIf coverage.
• The contract proves that one reviewed PASS closes only its matching open row, an unrelated readiness row remains untouched, the audit section is appended, and ledger-application.json is bound to the exact resulting ledger hash.
• A second application is rejected by the existing repository-state or open-row guard, preventing accidental replay.
• The application tool accepts an explicit repository root for isolated testing; normal release use still defaults to the real SpaceAge repository and retains all source-commit, clean-worktree, evidence-hash, and reviewer checks.
• The evidence application, evidence-pack, evidence-plan, and consolidated candidate-status contracts pass. Readiness remains 50/72 with 22 real human/environmental checks open. No customer build was produced.

2026-08-19 - Transactional Human Evidence Ledger Application

• The final readiness-ledger mutation now stages both the updated ledger and its application receipt before changing the authoritative file.
• Every receipt records SHA-256 identities for the ledger both before and after the mutation. An existing receipt is rejected before any ledger change, preventing silent replacement of earlier release evidence.
• The original ledger is backed up during commit and restored automatically if receipt publication fails after the ledger move. Temporary transaction files are removed on success or failure.
• The disposable-repository contract proves collision rejection leaves the ledger byte-identical, then proves the legitimate mutation, unrelated-row preservation, both ledger hashes, and replay rejection.
• Evidence application, evidence-pack, and evidence-plan contracts pass. Readiness remains 50/72 with 22 real human/environmental checks open. No customer build was produced.

2026-08-19 - Ledger Transaction Rollback Proof

• The human-evidence application contract now deliberately fails after replacing the readiness ledger but before publishing ledger-application.json.
• The failure path must restore the ledger to its exact pre-application SHA-256 identity, publish no receipt, remove all transaction files, and leave the disposable repository's tracked worktree clean.
• The legitimate application, unrelated-row preservation, occupied-receipt refusal, and replay refusal still pass after the rollback scenario.
• This closes a release-tooling proof gap only. It does not close any of the 22 human/environmental readiness rows and does not produce a customer build.

2026-08-19 - Machine-Readable Release Status Output

• The release-candidate status contract now requires -AsJson to emit exactly one JSON success object and rejects any extra success-stream narration.
• An all-stream probe confirms that redirectable output contains one JSON item and no contaminating record. PowerShell may still paint its native What if: preview directly to an interactive host while the dry-run contract executes; that host rendering is not pipeline data and does not contaminate JSON consumers.
• The evidence-pack and consolidated status contracts pass. Readiness remains 50/72 with the same 22 human/environmental checks open, and no customer build was produced.

2026-08-19 - Rollback Contract In The Main Release Gate

• The complete release-hygiene suite now requires, syntax-checks, and executes tools/test-release-human-evidence-application.ps1; rollback behavior can no longer pass as an isolated test while silently falling out of the release gate.
• The hidden post-ledger fault injector now refuses to run against the canonical SpaceAge repository. It remains available only when the contract supplies a disposable repository root.
• The focused application contract and complete release-hygiene gate both pass, including byte-identical rollback, receipt suppression, transaction cleanup, legitimate application, and replay refusal.
• Readiness remains 50/72 with 22 human/environmental checks open. No customer build was produced.