/press

Press is the adversarial pass that Cook dispatches inside its Press loop. /press <slug> stays callable for a manual re-run. It reports a GREEN pass to /age and a finding or coverage_gap to Cook.

Press never edits production code. Cook owns the implementation and first acceptance coverage. Press attacks the approved contract and reports each defect it exposes.

Phase entry

Run python3 skills/press/scripts/press.pyz wheypoint-resolve --ref <slug>. authoritative uses the record; its working_context is the first batched tilth_read. not-found proceeds cold; legacy shows its source and slug, then proceeds. gated, ambiguous, and error stop and show the payload. Show advisory stale-commit and grounded-path-missing findings. Keep its record.revision_id as <base> (§ Base revision).

Inputs

Cook dispatches Press automatically after its taste test on behavior work, so no invocation is needed. For a manual re-run, Press accepts this invocation and hands off to Age on GREEN:

/press <slug> [--auto] [--hard] [--open-pr]

After phase entry, Press reads .cheese/cook/<slug>.md for the Cook handoff.

--auto selects the autonomous chain. See ## Auto mode.

--hard requests the optional final gate. Press forwards this flag to Age.

--open-pr is publication permission. Only the user supplies it. Press forwards this flag to Age. Press never adds it.

Press preserves the Cook durable_flags: value without change. Press ignores the Cook taste_test: value.

Adversarial loop

Ask one question: "Can the user's original complaint still occur while every test passes?" Select ONE relevant false-success attack, not all four. Record the question, the attack, and why it threatens the claim. Confirm the acceptance check rejects that case. references/gap-analysis.md lists the attacks and the evidence sequence.

Press does not write first coverage. When it is missing, Press reports coverage_gap. Press adds a test only for a branch or false success that no existing test catches. ../cheese/references/test-shape.md defines placement, overlap, tables, generated inputs, and seams. Replay the same attack after each Cook correction, with the same attack and test digest. Invalid evidence and a production tree change stop the run. The outcome table defines the caps.

Press has no global dispatch: /cook action.

Baseline-aware gates

Press preserves baseline-aware readiness for project gates. The Cook baseline: line names one artifact. That artifact holds the settled state.

Read the artifact through the baseline: path. Do not re-flag a failure when its test and signature match the artifact. New or changed failures block the route.

See ../cook/references/quality-gates.md. Also see references/gap-analysis.md.

Flow

1. Read — Load the approved spec, Cook handoff, and baseline block. Use canonical terms from .cheese/glossary/<slug>.md when that file exists.
2. Inspect — Read the acceptance check before you add tests.
3. Attack — Add or run only adversarial tests. Do not change production paths. Extend the existing test file for the module. Before you add a test, name the existing test closest to it. Do not add the test when that test asserts the same seam and branch.
4. Shape — On the first run of an attack, run python3 skills/press/scripts/press.pyz test-shape --base <revision>. Use the acceptance-evidence revision from the Cook report. Fix each finding in a Press test, or record why it stands. Record a finding on a test that Press did not write under ## Review follow-ups. The check reads Python tests only. For other tests, apply the rules by hand and record test-shape: manual. After a shape fix, run the attack again. Record that outcome and test digest as the attack evidence. A replay uses this final version of the attack and skips this step.
5. Classify — Select green, finding, coverage_gap, invalid_evidence, or production_changed.
6. Report — Write .cheese/press/<slug>.md. Include the question, the selected attack, why it threatens the claim, the attempts, evidence, test shape, and review follow-ups.
7. Hand off — Send GREEN to /age. Send a finding or coverage_gap to Cook.

Use code-intelligence-routing.md for source changes.

Use ../cheese/references/harness-portability.md for portability. The reference states that slash commands are host renderings, not the control model.

Press reports one readiness value. Map ready for /age to status: ok and next: age.

Map follow-up recommended to status: ok-with-concerns: <concern> and next: age. Use this status for a GREEN pass that also records a review follow-up. Age owns each recorded concern.

Map finding to status: ok-with-concerns: <defect> and next: cook. Map coverage_gap to status: ok-with-concerns: coverage-gap: <gap> and next: cook.

Map blocked to status: halt: <reason> and next: done. blocked means invalid evidence or a production change.

Auto mode

--auto runs the same adversarial loop. It also selects the next phase without a user prompt.

Dispatch /age <slug> --auto after ready for /age or follow-up recommended. Add --hard when the user supplied it. Add --open-pr when the user supplied it.

Stop after blocked, halt: correction-cap, or halt: coverage-gap. Do not dispatch Age.

Honor the no-chain directive when the caller supplies it. Write the Press handoff and stop. Do not start another phase. Cook's fan pathway owns this directive. The retired /ultracook orchestrator previously owned it. Test for the directive itself. Do not test for the source name. See ../cook/references/auto-mode.md.

Output

Write .cheese/press/<slug>.md at each Press result.

Write the file with python3 skills/press/scripts/press.pyz write-handoff-artifact; include one or more --grounded <path[#start-end]> arguments. Use the canonical preamble:

python3 skills/press/scripts/press.pyz write-handoff-artifact \
  --slug <slug> --status <status> --phase press --next <next> [--base <base>] \
  --artifact .cheese/cook/<slug>.md --orientation "<one-line orientation>" \
  --durable-flags "<preserved Cook value>" --baseline "<baseline artifact path>" \
  --grounded <path[#start-end]> --body-file <body-path>

status: <canonical status field>
next: age | cook | done
artifact: .cheese/cook/<slug>.md
durable_flags: <preserved Cook value>
baseline: none | <baseline artifact path>
<one-line orientation>

The handback contract defines the status: grammar. The preamble accepts no other keys. Put every Press value in the report body.

artifact: names the consumed Cook report. Do not put attack evidence on this line.

baseline: names the one artifact that Cook recorded. See ../cook/references/quality-gates.md.

Write these body sections under the preamble:

• ## Attempts — one row for each attempt. Give the attempt number and outcome.
• ## Evidence — the stable attack identity, the test digest, and the failing test for a finding.
• ## Test shape — one row for each new test: the test, the closest existing test, and the branch or false success that only the new test catches. Then the test-shape result and the reason for each finding that stands.
• ## Review follow-ups — each out-of-contract concern. Write none when the run records no concern. Age reads this section.

Map the outcome to the terminal preamble:

next: done is terminal. It never starts another phase.

A next: cook handoff is a Cook correction (correction = true), for a finding or a coverage_gap. Press then replays or reruns the same attack.

Cook counts the rounds. Cook passes the round number and attack identity in the dispatch. Press emits halt: correction-cap or halt: coverage-gap only from that round number. A manual /press <slug> run reads prior rounds from .cheese/press/<slug>.md. references/gap-analysis.md holds the caps, including the 6-round press-round-limit.

Handoff

Pipeline: culture → mold → cook (⇄ press) → age → cure → plate

When Cook dispatched Press, return the handoff to Cook and stop. After a manual GREEN re-run, use the shared handoff gate. Start the review with /age <slug>.

After a finding or coverage_gap, hand off to Cook with the failing test or the gap named in the report.

Forward --hard, --auto, and --open-pr to /age when the caller supplied them. Never add --open-pr.

Rules

• Do not edit production code, production fixtures, or production adapters.
• Do not create a test_press_* file when a test file for the module exists.
• Do not change the attack between replays.
• Do not treat out-of-contract behavior as an implementation request. Record it under ## Review follow-ups. Report the run as ok-with-concerns on a GREEN pass.
• Preserve baseline-aware readiness.

Discipline

Press uses evidence first. An unverified failure is not a finding.

Name the outcome before each handoff decision. Name the attack digest. Stop if one value is missing. Do not guess.

Generated bundle command inventory: references/commands.md.