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+# Session J — Transcript
+
+> Date: 2026-05-27 → 2026-05-28
+> Goal: Answer an operator UX question ("what's the difference between
+> admin and owner?" — surfaced by the `/admin/users` role-change
+> dropdown), translate the answer into public-facing documentation
+> reachable from the live deployment, ship it as a focused rfc-app
+> release, and deploy it via flotilla to OHM. Concurrent with the
+> Session-I driver run that was advancing the roadmap; the two
+> sessions ran in parallel on the same laptop with the operator
+> pivoting between them.
+>
+> Outcome: **Shipped.**
+>
+> - **rfc-app v0.14.0** released, tagged, pushed to both remotes
+>   (`origin = git.wiggleverse.org`, `benstull = git.benstull.org`).
+>   New `DOCS.md` at the repo root, new `backend/app/docs.py` loader,
+>   new `GET /api/docs` endpoint, new `frontend/src/components/Docs.jsx`
+>   route, new "Docs" header link alongside "About". 605-line user
+>   guide covering roles & permissions (the original
+>   admin-vs-owner question), proposing, contributing, branches & PRs,
+>   graduation, discussion vs contribution, AI in the chat,
+>   notifications, write-mute vs notification mutes. Framework-neutral,
+>   no deployment names baked in. Mirrors the `/philosophy` shape
+>   end-to-end.
+> - **OHM live on v0.14.0** (`deploys.id=14`, all 9 phases green,
+>   verify 2.5s). `/api/health` returns
+>   `{"version":"0.14.0","status":"ok"}`.
+> - **Two prior failed deploys recorded** (`id=12`, `id=13`) — both
+>   failed at phase 3 because the production VM's `origin` is
+>   `git.benstull.org/benstull/rfc-app.git`, NOT the pin-source URL
+>   `git.wiggleverse.org/ben.stull/rfc-app.git`. The two Gitea remotes
+>   are linked but not auto-mirrored; my push had only landed on
+>   origin. Fix: push tag + main to `benstull` as well. New §19.2
+>   candidate spawned as a follow-up task (a flotilla preflight that
+>   resolves the VM-side origin and checks the target tag is
+>   reachable there before starting phase 3).
+>
+> Three findings worth flagging:
+>
+> 1. **The operator hand-off recovery gesture (`git stash push -u` →
+>    `git reset --hard main` → `git stash pop`) doesn't undo a
+>    ghost-revert state.** The hand-off prompt described this gesture
+>    as the way to reconcile a working tree that diffs against a
+>    `git update-ref`-advanced HEAD. In practice the stash captures
+>    the *full* working-tree-vs-HEAD diff, including the ghost-revert
+>    appearance; `reset --hard main` brings the tree to current HEAD;
+>    `stash pop` then replays the same ghost-revert diff back on top.
+>    Exit code 0, stash dropped, end state indistinguishable from
+>    start. **What actually worked**: `git restore .` (wipes all
+>    tracked-file modifications, leaves the 3 untracked docs-feature
+>    files alone), then manually re-applying the 3 wiring edits
+>    against the live v0.10.0 versions of `api.py`, `App.jsx`, and
+>    `api.js`. Worth a §19.3 rule-2 correction to the
+>    `SESSION-PROTOCOL.md` or to whatever operating-instructions
+>    document carries this recovery recipe — the stash route is a
+>    trap when the working tree's "modifications" are actually
+>    "this file held an earlier version's bytes."
+>
+> 2. **The pin-source URL and the VM's actual `origin` URL can
+>    diverge silently.** The flotilla `deployment show` output names
+>    the pin-source host (`https://git.wiggleverse.org`) but doesn't
+>    surface what the VM is actually fetching from. In OHM's case
+>    `/opt/ohm-app/.git` has `origin =
+>    https://git.benstull.org/benstull/rfc-app.git` — a separate
+>    Gitea instance. Tags land on the VM-side remote via whatever
+>    mirror sync runs between the two hosts (the historical tags
+>    v0.4.0–v0.13.0 are all there), but the sync is not real-time:
+>    a push-to-origin + immediate `flotilla deploy` hits a window
+>    where the target tag exists on the pin source but not on the VM
+>    origin. The failure message ("pathspec did not match") doesn't
+>    name the mismatch, so an operator first hitting this has to SSH
+>    in and discover it manually. Two-push discipline (`git push
+>    origin … && git push benstull …`) works around it; flotilla
+>    preflight + GCP-side mirror config are the two structural fixes.
+>    Follow-up task chip spawned in-session.
+>
+> 3. **v0.14.0 collided with the roadmap's reservation for #12
+>    Owner-only invite.** The version-target table in `ohm-rfc/ROADMAP.md`
+>    had reserved v0.14.0 for #12. My docs release was not a roadmap
+>    item — it was operator-driven from a UX question. I claimed the
+>    next clean-sequential slot (v0.14.0) when picking the version,
+>    matching the operator's prompt option ("v0.14.0 — clean
+>    sequential"). Item #12 now has to bump to the next free slot
+>    (v0.16.0 — v0.15.0 is reserved for #13 Amplitude). The roadmap
+>    edit at end-of-session records both: a new struck-through row
+>    #15 capturing what shipped, and a noted update to row #12's
+>    target version.
+>
+> One §19.3 rule-2 spec correction landed in `rfc-app/SPEC.md` (none
+> — the docs feature is downstream of existing SPEC sections, no spec
+> contract changed). The framework-neutrality rule from `CLAUDE.md`
+> shaped the content of `DOCS.md`: no deployment names ("Wiggleverse
+> Open Human Model", "OHM"), no corpus references ("vocabulary",
+> "Human"), but the framework name ("Wiggleverse RFC") does appear
+> per the CLAUDE.md exception.
+>
+> `rfc-app/CLAUDE.md` Session-protocol section was again deferred
+> (Session I had also deferred it for the same reason — the working
+> tree was unstable). I did not add it because the working tree
+> *was* clean by the time I shipped v0.14.0, but I deprioritized it
+> in the rush to deploy. The next OHM-touching rfc-app session
+> should add the Session-protocol section per `ohm-rfc/CLAUDE.md`'s
+> shape.
+
+---
+
+## Pre-session state
+
+- rfc-app on `main` at `55beba5` (Release 0.10.0 — most recent shipped
+  by SESSION-I). `VERSION` and `frontend/package.json` at `0.10.0`.
+- ohm-rfc at `a97a10e` (the Session-I CLAUDE.md Session-protocol
+  pointer commit). `.rfc-app-version` at `0.10.0`.
+- flotilla v1.0.1, OHM live on v0.10.0 (`deploys.id=11`).
+- This session's docs-feature work — `DOCS.md`,
+  `backend/app/docs.py`, `frontend/src/components/Docs.jsx`, plus
+  edits to `api.py` / `App.jsx` / `api.js` — predated Session J's
+  *explicit* arc and was the "operator-in-progress" state Session-I
+  observed in `/Users/benstull/git/rfc-app` (Arc 8 of that
+  transcript). The two sessions overlapped temporally; Session I
+  routed around the in-progress files via throwaway worktrees +
+  `git update-ref refs/heads/main` while Session J continued
+  building the docs feature in the main checkout.
+- The operator was driving both sessions, pivoting between them as
+  each surfaced something needing a human decision.
+
+The `git status` Session J inherited at its first significant
+checkpoint showed the Session-I-induced ghost-revert: 28 staged
+"modifications" (actually the diff between the v0.7.0-era working-
+tree files and the post-`update-ref` v0.10.0 HEAD) plus my 3
+untracked files. The driver in Session I had documented this
+exact shape in its Arc-15 "cross-session staged state question"
+section — I inherited the artifact.
+
+---
+
+## Turn-by-turn arc
+
+### Arc 1 — The admin-vs-owner question
+
+The operator opened the session with a screenshot of the
+`/admin/users` page mid-click on the role-change dropdown. The
+dropdown showed `Contributor / Admin / Owner` with `Owner` already
+selected, and a warning "Use the explicit succession path to change
+your own role." Question: "What is the difference between admin and
+owner?"
+
+I read `rfc-app/SPEC.md` §6.1 (Four roles, each a strict superset of
+the one below) and §6.2 (write-mute), summarized:
+
+- **Admin** = everything contributor can do, plus framework-wide
+  acting authority: merge any PR, graduate any super-draft, set
+  branch visibility on anyone's behalf, write-mute / restore
+  contributors, grant or revoke the **admin** role itself, withdraw
+  or reopen entries.
+- **Owner** = everything admin can do, plus the two things admins
+  can't: grant or revoke the **owner** role itself, disable an
+  account entirely.
+
+The practical difference: admin is the operational tier; owner is
+the tier that controls the admin tier. The succession-path warning
+on the dropdown is the framework refusing to let the last owner
+silently demote themselves.
+
+### Arc 2 — Public docs scope question
+
+The operator's follow-up: "We'll need documentation on all of this
+that's publicly facing, not just the spec. Can you do that?"
+
+I surveyed `frontend/src/components/Philosophy.jsx` +
+`backend/app/philosophy.py` + the `/philosophy` route registration
+in `App.jsx` to understand the existing pattern. Asked the operator
+two scoping questions via `AskUserQuestion`:
+
+1. **Doc scope**: roles-only / all operator-admin surfaces / full
+   user guide. Operator picked **full user guide**.
+2. **Location**: new `/docs` route in-app / extend `/philosophy` /
+   in-context Admin help. Operator picked **new `/docs` route** —
+   the recommended option that mirrors the `/philosophy` shape.
+
+### Arc 3 — Pre-flight repo check, in-progress 0.7.0 rebase discovered
+
+Before any edits I ran `git status` on rfc-app to confirm a clean
+baseline. The git-status snapshot in the session-start context had
+said "clean" but the actual state was mid-rebase: HEAD detached on
+`feature/v0.7.0-email-otc`, picked commit `2590c24` halted with
+conflicts on `CHANGELOG.md`, `SPEC.md`, `VERSION`,
+`frontend/package.json`, `frontend/package-lock.json`. The
+`frontend/package.json` file literally had `<<<<<<< HEAD` /
+`=======` / `>>>>>>>` conflict markers from the v0.7.0 release pick.
+
+This was the *parallel* Session-I driver's interrupted state. I
+paused, surfaced the discovery, and asked the operator how to
+proceed. Three options offered; operator picked **write docs only;
+skip version bump** — I'd write `DOCS.md`, wire the endpoint and
+the route, but not touch `VERSION` / `package.json` /
+`CHANGELOG.md` / `SPEC.md` / `package-lock.json`. The version-bump
+and changelog entry would land later, against whatever resolved
+tree the other session produced.
+
+### Arc 4 — Wrote the docs feature
+
+In one batch:
+
+- **`DOCS.md` at the repo root** (605 lines). Plain-prose user
+  guide. Sections: reading without signing in, signing in,
+  proposing an RFC, what a super-draft is, what an active RFC is,
+  discussion vs contribution, working on a branch (contribute mode,
+  AI proposals, manual edits, flags, branch visibility, contribute
+  grants, hygiene), opening and reviewing PRs, graduation,
+  withdrawal and reopening, AI in the chat, notifications and
+  watch states, roles & permissions (the four app-wide roles
+  including the original admin-vs-owner answer, per-RFC owners
+  and arbiters, per-branch contribute grants, the write-mute, the
+  three structurally distinct "mutes"), where to learn more.
+  Framework-neutral per `CLAUDE.md`'s separation-of-concerns rule
+  — no deployment-specific names; "Wiggleverse RFC framework" does
+  appear per the CLAUDE.md exception for framework references.
+- **`backend/app/docs.py`** — 61 lines. Mirrors `philosophy.py`:
+  disk-first load, in-process cache, `refresh()` on demand,
+  optional `DOCS_PATH` env override, loud-failure placeholder if
+  `DOCS.md` is absent at process start.
+- **`backend/app/api.py`** — two additive edits. Added
+  `docs as docs_mod` to the relative-import block alongside
+  `philosophy`; added `GET /api/docs` handler immediately after
+  `GET /api/philosophy` (same shape, same anonymous-readable
+  contract).
+- **`frontend/src/api.js`** — added `getDocs()` exported helper
+  alongside `getPhilosophy()`.
+- **`frontend/src/components/Docs.jsx`** — 51 lines. Mirrors
+  `Philosophy.jsx`: chrome with Back / "USER GUIDE" / Home
+  affordances, body rendered through `MarkdownPreview`.
+- **`frontend/src/App.jsx`** — four additive edits. New `Docs`
+  import; new "Docs" header link alongside "About"; new `/docs`
+  route alongside `/philosophy`; new `DocsWithSidebar` chrome
+  wrapper alongside `PhilosophyWithSidebar`.
+
+Three of the four App.jsx edits hit a "file has been modified since
+read" error mid-batch (the parallel Session-I driver was touching
+files), forcing a re-read and re-application. No content lost; just
+ceremony.
+
+### Arc 5 — Preview verification, backend down
+
+`preview_start` launched the existing frontend Vite server. Navigated
+to `/docs` via `preview_eval`. The snapshot showed the chrome
+rendered correctly (header brand + About + Docs nav links, page
+chrome with "USER GUIDE" / Back / Home, body with "Could not load
+the guide: Failed to execute 'text' on 'Response': body stream
+already read"). The fetch error was the FastAPI backend not running
+in this preview environment (every `/api/*` call returned 502
+including `/api/auth/me` and `/api/rfcs`), not a bug in my code. I
+confirmed by also navigating to `/philosophy` — same error shape,
+same backend-down symptom — proving the two routes were wired
+symmetrically.
+
+Could not boot the FastAPI backend cleanly during this preview
+window because the parallel session had `requirements.txt` and
+`auth.py` and migration `012_otc.sql` mid-rebase; starting the
+backend would have surfaced spurious errors that weren't about my
+docs work.
+
+Verified the backend module's load path directly via `python3 -c
+"from app import docs; r = docs.load(); print(r['path'], len(r['body']))"`
+— DOCS.md loaded, 24,597 bytes, first line `# Using the RFC app`.
+
+Also verified the api.py wiring with `ast`-style grep: the
+`docs_mod` import landed, the `/api/docs` handler is defined, the
+`docs_mod.load()` call is present.
+
+### Arc 6 — Long pause, parallel session continued
+
+Operator: "ok, will let you know when we're ready for that" — for
+the version bump + changelog entry. I waited.
+
+### Arc 7 — Operator returned, state still in flux
+
+Operator: "I think we're ready - go ahead and check."
+
+Re-ran `git status`. The state had changed but was *still*
+mid-revert: HEAD had advanced from the v0.7.0 rebase target to
+`8aa6501` (Release 0.13.0), and a 17-file staged change set was
+sitting uncommitted — an exact inverse of the 0.13.0 commit (same
+files, same line counts flipped). The staged commit would assert
+"we are 0.7.0 again." My docs files were still safely uncommitted
+on top.
+
+I surfaced the picture in detail and asked the operator how to
+proceed. Three options; operator selected "Other → Tell me more
+about the staged revert." I described the staged revert precisely
+(one commit between 0.7.0 and HEAD, the staged diff is its exact
+inverse — effectively `git revert HEAD`, semver-unusual because
+`VERSION` walks backward), then re-asked. Operator selected
+"Other → Hang tight - sounds like we aren't done in another
+session. Will let you know when we're ready." Waited again.
+
+### Arc 8 — Multiple check-ins, parallel session kept advancing
+
+Operator: "ok let's try again." State still mid-revert, now
+expanded: HEAD at `55beba5` (Release 0.10.0), 28-file staged
+change set inversing the 0.13.0 + 0.10.0 + 0.8.0 deltas. Same
+constraint as before, surfaced again, operator paused again.
+
+Operator: "How's it looking now?" Same 28-file staged state, same
+report.
+
+### Arc 9 — Hand-off prompt with recovery gesture
+
+Operator finally pasted a long hand-off prompt explaining the
+*actual* state: SESSION-I's driver had been advancing local `main`
+via `git update-ref refs/heads/main refs/remotes/origin/main` to
+avoid disturbing the operator-in-progress working tree. Side effect:
+my working tree (based on v0.7.0 where my docs work was authored)
+now diffed against v0.10.0 HEAD, so every v0.6.0/v0.8.0/v0.10.0/
+v0.13.0 file appears as "D" (staged-for-deletion) and every file
+modified since v0.7.0 appears as "M" (staged-modification). Nothing
+actually got removed; the index is just out of sync with the
+working tree.
+
+Prescribed recovery gesture:
+
+```
+git status --short | wc -l                            # ~28 lines, expected
+git stash push -u -m "docs-feature wip pre-rebase"    # captures tracked + untracked
+git status --short                                    # should be empty now
+git reset --hard main                                 # working tree = v0.10.0 main, clean
+git stash pop                                         # bring back docs work, now diffed vs v0.10.0
+git status --short                                    # should show 3 M + 3 ??, NO staged revert
+```
+
+With the expectation that the `stash pop` would hit merge conflicts
+on api.py / App.jsx / api.js (small, additive, resolvable
+"keep both sides").
+
+### Arc 10 — The recovery gesture didn't work
+
+Ran the gesture step by step. Counts and reset checked out cleanly.
+The `stash pop` exit code was 0, no merge conflicts reported, stash
+dropped. **But the resulting working tree was the same 28-file
+"revert" state I'd started with.**
+
+The reason: `git stash push -u` captures the *full diff* of the
+working tree against HEAD, including the ghost-revert appearance.
+After `git reset --hard main` brought the working tree to v0.10.0,
+the `stash pop` simply replayed that same ghost-revert diff back
+on top — no conflicts because every line in the stash was an
+unambiguous replacement of the current line. The end state was
+indistinguishable from the start, except my docs edits were now
+entangled with the ghost-revert deletions in the same `M` rows of
+api.py / App.jsx / api.js. The stash was dropped, so no recovery
+via stash was possible.
+
+Surfaced this to the operator with three forward paths. Operator
+selected **"Discard everything, re-apply my docs edits manually."**
+
+### Arc 11 — Manual recovery
+
+`git restore .` wiped all tracked-file modifications (the 28-file
+ghost-revert plus my entangled docs edits). The 3 untracked files
+(`DOCS.md`, `backend/app/docs.py`,
+`frontend/src/components/Docs.jsx`) survived. `VERSION` and
+`package.json` were at `0.10.0`. Clean v0.10.0 baseline.
+
+Read the current v0.10.0 versions of `api.py`, `App.jsx`, `api.js`
+to find the right anchor points for my re-application. The v0.10.0
+files had grown (beta-access columns in `/api/auth/me` response,
+passcode endpoints, beta-pending viewer prop, login multi-step
+flow), so the surrounding context was different from v0.7.0 but
+the anchors I needed (the philosophy block in api.py, the
+`getPhilosophy()` export in api.js, the `<PhilosophyWithSidebar>`
+pattern in App.jsx) were still present in the same form.
+
+Re-applied the 7 edits via `Edit`. Final state:
+
+- 3 M (`backend/app/api.py` +12 lines, `frontend/src/App.jsx`
+  +13 lines, `frontend/src/api.js` +4 lines). All purely
+  additive; zero deletions.
+- 3 ?? (`DOCS.md`, `backend/app/docs.py`,
+  `frontend/src/components/Docs.jsx`).
+- `VERSION` and `package.json` unchanged at `0.10.0`.
+
+Verified in the running preview: `/docs` route rendered with the
+v0.13.0 cookie-consent banner *also* rendering underneath, proving
+that the cookie-consent files (`CookieConsentBanner.jsx`,
+`Privacy.jsx`, `Cookies.jsx`, `lib/consent.js`) were intact in the
+restored tree. The same backend-down error showed on `/docs` as
+before; that's a separate concern.
+
+Stale Vite HMR error logs from the ghost-revert window (timestamped
+`t=1779962572215`) were not regenerating; new error log lines after
+the reload were absent. The `getDocs` export was confirmed present
+via `preview_eval` reading the live `/src/api.js` body.
+
+### Arc 12 — Release as v0.14.0
+
+Operator: "ok, go ahead and release."
+
+Picked **v0.14.0** as the version. The operator had earlier
+prompted with two options: v0.9.0 (fill the gap left by item #7
+Admin user-management page) or v0.14.0 (clean sequential after
+0.13.0). v0.14.0 is also a reserved slot in the roadmap (#12
+Owner-only invite), but the "clean sequential" framing won — claim
+the next gap-free slot, let #12 reshuffle later.
+
+Bumped `VERSION` to `0.14.0`, `frontend/package.json#version` to
+`0.14.0`, prepended a CHANGELOG entry matching the established
+descending-version-order layout (73 lines: Added / Changed /
+Upgrade steps (from 0.13.0)). Staged the 9 files explicitly by
+name. Committed:
+
+```
+de28272 Release 0.14.0: public /docs user guide (DOCS.md served at /docs)
+9 files changed, 821 insertions, 2 deletions
+```
+
+821 = 605 (DOCS.md) + 73 (CHANGELOG entry) + 61 (docs.py) + 51
+(Docs.jsx) + 12 (api.py) + 13 (App.jsx) + 4 (api.js) + 1 (VERSION
+bump) + 1 (package.json bump). Math checked.
+
+Did NOT touch `SPEC.md` — the docs feature is downstream of
+existing spec sections, doesn't introduce a new spec contract.
+Offered to draft a SPEC amendment as a follow-up if the operator
+wants `DOCS.md` named alongside §14.2's `/philosophy`; operator
+hasn't asked for one.
+
+Did NOT update `frontend/.env.example` for the new optional
+`DOCS_PATH` env var — the framework default (reading from repo
+root) works without it; the CHANGELOG "Upgrade steps (from 0.13.0)"
+documents the optional override.
+
+Did NOT update `rfc-app/CLAUDE.md` to add the Session-protocol
+section that Session I had deferred — deprioritized in the rush
+to deploy. Noted in §19.2 below.
+
+The commit landed with committer `Ben Stull <benstull@mac.lan>` —
+git's auto-generated identity from username + hostname. Memory
+says canonical is `ben@wiggleverse.org`. Surfaced to the operator;
+did not touch `git config` (per safety rules).
+
+### Arc 13 — Push
+
+Operator: "you can git push." Pushed `main` to `origin` —
+`55beba5..de28272 main -> main`. Did not push the tag yet (Arc 14
+catches this).
+
+### Arc 14 — Deploy attempt 1 + 2: VM origin mismatch
+
+Operator: "and then use the flotilla to deploy."
+
+Inspected the flotilla CLI surface
+(`/Users/benstull/projects/wiggleverse/ohm-rfc-app-flotilla/.venv/bin/ohm-rfc-app-flotilla`).
+The deploy gesture is `flotilla deploy ohm-rfc-app` (top-level
+command, not a subcommand of `deploy` — that namespace's
+subcommands are `abort/log/status/watch` for *observing* deploys,
+not initiating them).
+
+Read the operator-guide flow: bump `.rfc-app-version` in the corpus
+repo → `flotilla pin check ohm-rfc-app` → `flotilla deploy --dry-run`
+→ real deploy.
+
+**Bumped the corpus pin.** Edited
+`/Users/benstull/projects/wiggleverse/ohm-rfc/.rfc-app-version`
+from `0.10.0` to `0.14.0`. Committed (`d6af91f`), pushed.
+
+**Pin check confirmed** the pin resolves to `0.14.0`, AHEAD of last
+deploy.
+
+**Dry-run preview** showed the 9-phase plan clean. Plan named
+`git checkout v0.14.0` at phase 3, which requires a git tag — and I
+hadn't created one yet. Read the existing tag convention
+(annotated tags like `v0.13.0` with subject "Release X.Y.Z: ..."),
+created `v0.14.0` on commit `de28272`, pushed to origin.
+
+**Deploy attempt 1** (`deploys.id=12`) — failed at phase 3:
+
+```
+[3/9] fetch+checkout: FAILED — git fetch/checkout failed: error:
+  pathspec 'v0.14.0' did not match any file(s) known to git
+```
+
+Three seconds elapsed in phase 3 — suspiciously fast for a real
+fetch over the network. First hypothesis: transient Gitea tag
+propagation lag. Retried.
+
+**Deploy attempt 2** (`deploys.id=13`) — same failure, same 3
+seconds. Not transient.
+
+Verified the tag was definitely on the pin-source Gitea via
+`git ls-remote --tags origin v0.14.0` →
+`ce4d9af refs/tags/v0.14.0`. So Gitea-the-pin-source had the tag.
+
+### Arc 15 — Diagnosis: VM origin is a different Gitea host
+
+Read `ohm_rfc_app_flotilla/deploy.py` lines 368–388 (the phase-3
+implementation). The SSH command is well-formed:
+
+```
+sudo -u ohm-app sh -c 'cd /opt/ohm-app && git fetch --tags && git
+checkout v0.14.0 && head=$(git rev-parse HEAD) && tagsha=$(git
+rev-parse v0.14.0^{commit}) && [ "$head" = "$tagsha" ] && echo
+"HEAD=$head"'
+```
+
+No obvious bug. Asked the operator how to diagnose; operator
+selected **"SSH into the VM, inspect git remote + try a manual
+fetch."**
+
+Read-only diagnostic via `gcloud compute ssh`:
+
+```
+git remote -v          → origin    https://git.benstull.org/benstull/rfc-app.git
+git config --get remote.origin.fetch
+                       → +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/*
+git fetch --tags --verbose
+                       → all tags up through v0.13.0 listed as "[up to date]";
+                         v0.14.0 absent
+git tag --list v0.14.*
+                       → (empty)
+```
+
+**Root cause**: the VM's `/opt/ohm-app` has `origin` set to
+`https://git.benstull.org/benstull/rfc-app.git` — a **different
+Gitea host** than the flotilla's `pin_source_host`
+(`https://git.wiggleverse.org`). The two hosts are linked (every
+historical tag eventually propagates to the VM origin via some
+mirror sync) but the sync is not real-time. My push to
+`git.wiggleverse.org` had not yet landed on `git.benstull.org`.
+
+### Arc 16 — Fix + deploy
+
+Inspected my local rfc-app remotes:
+
+```
+benstull  git@git.benstull.org:benstull/rfc-app.git
+origin    https://git.wiggleverse.org/ben.stull/rfc-app.git
+```
+
+`benstull` is the VM-origin-matching remote, already configured.
+Pushed both `main` and the `v0.14.0` tag to it:
+
+```
+git push benstull main      → 55beba5..de28272 main -> main
+git push benstull v0.14.0   → [new tag] v0.14.0 -> v0.14.0
+```
+
+**Deploy attempt 3** (`deploys.id=14`):
+
+```
+[1/9] validate: ok
+[2/9] preflight: ok
+[3/9] fetch+checkout: ok
+[4/9] backend deps: ok
+[5/9] frontend build: ok
+[6/9] write .env: ok
+[7/9] restart: ok
+[8/9] verify /api/health: ok
+[9/9] finalize: ok
+ohm: deployed v0.14.0 (deploys.id=14)
+ohm: deployed v0.14.0 (verify took 2.5s)
+```
+
+Final verification: `flotilla deploy status ohm-rfc-app` →
+`HTTP 200 version=0.14.0 status=ok`.
+
+### Arc 17 — Follow-up task spawned
+
+Surfaced the root cause to the operator as a footgun worth fixing
+structurally. Two options: a flotilla preflight that resolves the
+VM-side origin and `ls-remote`s it for the target tag, OR a Gitea
+mirror config between the two hosts. The preflight is
+defense-in-depth and survives future mirror lag or a different
+deployment's remote drift.
+
+Operator said: "yes, go for it." Spawned a follow-up session task
+via `mcp__ccd_session__spawn_task` rooted in the flotilla repo
+(`cwd: /Users/benstull/projects/wiggleverse/ohm-rfc-app-flotilla`).
+Title: "Add VM-origin preflight to flotilla deploy." The spawned
+session's prompt is self-contained: full incident context, files
+to touch (`deploy.py` ~lines 351–388, `SPEC.md` §8, `tests/`,
+`CHANGELOG.md`, `VERSION`), pseudo-shape for the new check, the
+alternative-Gitea-mirror consideration, two "don't do" guardrails
+(don't change pin-source resolution; don't auto-push the tag from
+the flotilla), and a verify-when-done list.
+
+The operator can one-click-spin-it-up in a fresh worktree, or
+dismiss the chip.
+
+### Arc 18 — Transcript
+
+Operator asked for this transcript per the standing protocol.
+Read `SESSION-I-TRANSCRIPT-2026-05-27T23-30--2026-05-28T03-15.md`
+to match shape and voice. Read the publish-transcript script to
+understand the filename regex and idempotency contract. Read
+`ohm-rfc/ROADMAP.md` to figure out which row to strike — and
+discovered that **no row exists for the docs feature**; my v0.14.0
+release was operator-driven, not roadmap-driven. The ROADMAP edit
+plan (Arc 19 below) reflects this: add a new row #15 to capture
+what shipped, and update row #12's target version to reflect the
+slot collision.
+
+### Arc 19 — ROADMAP edit + publish
+
+`ohm-rfc/ROADMAP.md` got two surgical edits:
+
+1. **New row #15** in the version-target table: "Public user guide
+   (DOCS.md + /docs route)" targeting v0.14.0, struck through with
+   a link to the v0.14.0 tag and `deploys.id=14`.
+2. **Row #12** (Owner-only invite) target version changed from
+   `v0.14.0 (needs v0.5.0 + v0.7.0)` to `v0.16.0 (needs v0.5.0 +
+   v0.7.0; v0.14.0 slot was claimed out-of-band by item #15 per
+   Session J)` to record the slot reshuffling explicitly. v0.15.0
+   remains reserved for #13 Amplitude, so #12 jumps to v0.16.0.
+
+Committed to `ohm-rfc/main` and pushed.
+
+This transcript written. The transcript filename
+`SESSION-J-TRANSCRIPT-2026-05-27T23-50--2026-05-28T03-20.md`
+matches the convention. Published via
+`~/git/ohm-infra/scripts/publish-transcript.sh`.
+
+---
+
+## Cut state (end of session)
+
+| | |
+| --- | --- |
+| flotilla | Unchanged. v1.0.1 installed; deployment registered; 3 new `deploys` rows added this session (`id=12 failed`, `id=13 failed`, `id=14 succeeded` — all v0.14.0). |
+| rfc-app | `de28272` tag `v0.14.0`. Pushed to `origin = git.wiggleverse.org/ben.stull/rfc-app` AND `benstull = git.benstull.org/benstull/rfc-app`. `VERSION = 0.14.0`, `frontend/package.json#version = 0.14.0`. `CHANGELOG.md` has a new top entry. CLAUDE.md Session-protocol pointer **still deferred** — Session I also deferred this. |
+| ohm-rfc | `<new commit>` (`.rfc-app-version` bumped to `0.14.0` via `d6af91f`; ROADMAP edited with row #15 + row #12 update via this session's closing commit). |
+| OHM live | `deploys.id=14`, v0.14.0, healthy. `/api/health` returns `{"version":"0.14.0","status":"ok"}`. `/docs` reachable anonymously and serves the new user guide. |
+| ohm-infra | New transcript: `SESSION-J-TRANSCRIPT-2026-05-27T23-50--2026-05-28T03-20.md`. No other changes to scripts or protocol. |
+| ohm-session-history | This transcript published via `publish-transcript.sh`. Adds one new file alongside Sessions A–I. |
+| Spawned task | One chip showing for the operator: "Add VM-origin preflight to flotilla deploy" — cwd-rooted in the flotilla repo. |
+
+| This session's ledger | Status |
+| --- | --- |
+| Docs feature shipped | ✅ rfc-app v0.14.0 + OHM `deploys.id=14`. Not a roadmap item; operator-driven from the admin-vs-owner UX question. |
+| ROADMAP collision | v0.14.0 slot was reserved for #12 Owner-only invite; that row's target version bumped to v0.16.0 in this session's ROADMAP edit. |
+| CLAUDE.md update | Deferred. (Same as Session I.) |
+
+---
+
+## §19.2 candidates surfaced
+
+1. **`git stash push -u` + `reset --hard main` + `stash pop` is a
+   trap for ghost-revert recovery.** When a working tree's
+   "modifications" are actually "files held an earlier version's
+   bytes after `git update-ref` advanced HEAD," the stash captures
+   the full ghost-revert diff and the pop replays it. End state
+   identical to start state. **What works**: `git restore .` to wipe
+   all tracked modifications (untracked files survive), then manual
+   re-application of any genuine edits. Worth recording in
+   `SESSION-PROTOCOL.md` or `CLAUDE.md` as a recipe — future driver
+   sessions hitting the same shape (a parallel-session
+   `update-ref`-advanced HEAD against a working tree that lagged)
+   will reach for the same wrong gesture otherwise.
+
+2. **flotilla preflight should verify the VM's actual `origin` URL
+   has the target tag.** The pin source (named in
+   `deployment show`) and the VM's `git remote get-url origin` can
+   diverge silently. When they do, the deploy fails at phase 3 with
+   "pathspec did not match" — uninformative. Already spawned as a
+   follow-up session task with full context. The alternative is
+   GCP-side Gitea mirror config; the flotilla preflight is
+   defense-in-depth.
+
+3. **`SESSION-PROTOCOL.md` could note the "claim the next free
+   sequential slot" tradeoff for non-roadmap-driven releases.** This
+   session shipped v0.14.0 out-of-band, colliding with #12's
+   reservation. The roadmap edit at end-of-session captured the
+   collision and shifted #12 → v0.16.0. The discipline question: is
+   "claim sequential slot, document the bump" the canonical move, or
+   should out-of-band releases claim a *post-roadmap* slot (e.g.
+   v0.99.0) to avoid shuffling reserved slots? Either is workable;
+   the protocol document doesn't currently take a position.
+
+4. **`rfc-app/CLAUDE.md` Session-protocol section is now deferred
+   twice.** Session I deferred it because the working tree was
+   unstable. Session J deferred it because the deploy was the
+   priority and the tree only stabilized late. The third
+   rfc-app-touching session should make the addition non-deferrable
+   (e.g. fail the end-of-session checklist if rfc-app's CLAUDE.md
+   doesn't carry the Session-protocol pointer).
+
+5. **The flotilla `deployment show` output should surface the VM's
+   actual origin URL, not just the pin source URL.** Even with the
+   preflight from candidate #2 above, a quick `deployment show`
+   visual scan should make the divergence (if any) visible without
+   having to SSH in. Cosmetic surface change; small.
+
+---
+
+## What lands on the operator's plate
+
+1. **Follow-up task chip**: "Add VM-origin preflight to flotilla
+   deploy." One click spins it up in a fresh flotilla worktree.
+   Dismiss if you'd prefer to configure Gitea mirroring instead.
+
+2. **rfc-app `CLAUDE.md` Session-protocol section** is still
+   missing. Either add it manually now (one-paragraph pointer to
+   `~/git/ohm-infra/SESSION-PROTOCOL.md`, matching
+   `flotilla/CLAUDE.md` shape) or assign it to the next
+   rfc-app-touching session.
+
+3. **Two failed `deploys` rows** (`id=12`, `id=13`) sit in the
+   flotilla history. Audit-trail only; not actionable. The same
+   info is captured in this transcript so the rows can stay or be
+   pruned at operator discretion.
+
+4. **Local git committer identity** is still
+   `Ben Stull <benstull@mac.lan>` per the auto-generated
+   username+hostname; memory says canonical is
+   `ben@wiggleverse.org`. Surfaced; not fixed in-session.
+
+5. **#12 Owner-only invite target version moved** from v0.14.0 to
+   v0.16.0. When that item's session runs (Wave 5 per the existing
+   plan), the dispatched subagent should be given the updated
+   target.
+
+6. **Roadmap Wave 4 was Session-I's next focus** but did not run
+   this session (this session was operator-driven, not
+   roadmap-driven). Wave 4 lineup unchanged from Session-I's
+   closing prompt: #7 (v0.9.0), #9 (v0.11.0), #10 (v0.12.0).
+
+---
+
+## Prompt the operator can paste into the next Claude Code session
+
+```
+You are the OHM roadmap driver. Two sessions just closed in
+parallel: Session I shipped rfc-app v0.4.0 / v0.5.0 / v0.6.0 /
+v0.7.0 / v0.8.0 / v0.10.0 / v0.13.0 to OHM, and Session J shipped
+rfc-app v0.14.0 (DOCS.md + /docs public user guide; not a
+roadmap item — operator-driven from a UX question) to OHM
+(deploys.id=14). OHM is currently serving v0.14.0. Read
+~/git/ohm-infra/SESSION-PROTOCOL.md at session start for the
+binding end-of-session discipline.
+
+Read /Users/benstull/projects/wiggleverse/ohm-rfc/ROADMAP.md
+end-to-end and execute Wave 4 per the "Operating instructions
+for the next session" section. The Wave 4 lineup per the
+roadmap text:
+- Session κ (Track C1): #7 Admin user-management page → v0.9.0
+- Session λ (Track C2): #9 Device trust 30d → v0.11.0
+- Session μ (Track C): #10 CloudFlare verification → v0.12.0
+  (CAUTION: requires operator-provided CLOUDFLARE_TURNSTILE_SECRET.
+  Subagent CHANGELOG MUST step pauses the wave; do not invent the
+  secret. Operator must `flotilla secret set ohm-rfc-app
+  CLOUDFLARE_TURNSTILE_SECRET` before the v0.12.0 deploy.)
+
+Same constraints as Sessions H + I: dispatch parallelizable items
+as forked subagents in a single message, serialize the deploys,
+verify each, strikethrough the version-target table when an item
+ships, commit + push ohm-rfc, write the session transcript per
+~/git/ohm-infra/SESSION-PROTOCOL.md at end-of-session. Stop and
+wait for the operator if a deploy fails, a release's Upgrade
+steps require an operator-provided secret, or you encounter
+cross-repo ambiguity.
+
+Session-I + Session-J lessons to apply automatically:
+
+- **VM origin vs pin source divergence (Session J)**: after pushing
+  a rfc-app tag to `origin = git.wiggleverse.org`, ALSO push to
+  `benstull = git.benstull.org`. The production VM at /opt/ohm-app
+  fetches from git.benstull.org, not git.wiggleverse.org; the two
+  Gitea hosts are linked but not real-time mirrored. Missing this
+  causes phase-3 "pathspec did not match" failures. A follow-up
+  task to add a flotilla preflight check is in flight; until it
+  lands, the two-push discipline is the workaround:
+    git push origin main && git push origin vX.Y.Z
+    git push benstull main && git push benstull vX.Y.Z
+
+- **Ghost-revert recovery (Session J)**: if you find a working tree
+  whose `git status` shows 20+ files as staged-deletions/
+  modifications that don't match your session's edits, the cause
+  is a prior session's `git update-ref refs/heads/main` advancing
+  HEAD past a working tree that held older bytes. DO NOT use
+  `git stash push -u` + `git reset --hard main` + `git stash pop`
+  — the stash captures the ghost-revert and the pop replays it.
+  Instead: `git restore .` to wipe tracked modifications
+  (untracked files survive), then manually re-apply any genuine
+  edits against the current HEAD's file structure.
+
+- **Subagents push feature branches only (Session I)**. Driver
+  tags, bumps the ohm-rfc pin, and runs the deploy. Do NOT have
+  subagents bump the pin themselves.
+
+- **Cross-repo subagents** must create their own `git worktree add`
+  in the target repo. The `Agent` tool's `isolation:` flag applies
+  only to the driver's CWD.
+
+- **Migration numbers**: pre-allocate slots per subagent in the
+  prompt. Session I used 014 for #6 and 015 for #8. Next free is
+  016 — check `ls /Users/benstull/git/rfc-app/backend/migrations/`
+  before dispatching to confirm.
+
+- **Phase-7 SSH timeout (60s)** can fire while uvicorn is still in
+  SIGTERM-grace waiting for SSE clients. If the deploy logs
+  `failed` or `in_progress` at phase 7, check `/api/health` first
+  — the service likely restarted fine. If so, `flotilla deploy
+  abort` to clear the in-flight row.
+
+- **CHANGELOG.md must be strictly version-descending.** If a
+  subagent inserts at the top out of order, fix it during
+  integration.
+
+- **Item #12 Owner-only invite** has been re-targeted from v0.14.0
+  to v0.16.0 per Session J's docs-release slot collision. Update
+  any upgrade-from anchors accordingly.
+
+- **Item #1 VM rename** and operator-provided secrets stay
+  operator territory unless the operator explicitly clears them.
+
+- **rfc-app/CLAUDE.md Session-protocol section** is still missing
+  (Sessions I + J both deferred it). If this session's first
+  rfc-app gesture has a clean working tree, add it before doing
+  anything else, matching flotilla/CLAUDE.md's shape.
+```