I'm running the review now. I used your "Multi-lens Trail Review Prompt" (it's in Work/Prompts/, not Work/Entire/) on Trail #2630 (https://entire.com/gh/entireio/-/trails/2630). Five read-only reviewers are working in the background:

• cli/1704 (core, about 1,950 lines) gets three reviewers, because it's the biggest change:
  • principal engineer plus regressions
  • security
  • idiomatic Go plus API design
• cli/1707 (followups) gets one reviewer covering every lens, plus compatibility with canonical Git, since it reads the refs Git hands the pre-push hook. There's no local git/git source checkout, so that reviewer checks against githooks docs and runs experiments with the installed git.
• cli/1712 (first-push question) gets one reviewer covering every lens, with extra attention to opening the prompt from inside the hook, the 15s timeout, Ctrl-C, and agents running in a terminal.

Two things to know:

• Your local checkpoint-holds-core has 2 commits that aren't pushed yet, so cli/1704 is being reviewed at local HEAD. 1707 and 1712 don't include those commits yet, and their reviewers will flag anything that would conflict.
• Each stacked change is reviewed only against its parent branch, not against main.

When they finish, you'll get a "merge" or "do not merge" verdict and a list of MUSTs and SHOULDs for each change. Nothing gets posted to the Trail without your approval.

The Go-and-API reviewer for cli/1704 has finished; four reviewers are still running.

Its verdict is do not merge, because of one MUST:

• The manual policy stops applying if the backend changes. configure only allows manual on the git-refs backend, and it checks this only when you set the policy. Three things can later switch the backend to git-branch: configure --checkpoint-backend branch, a committed .entire/settings.json, or an environment override.
• After that switch, git push uploads checkpoints again, while status still says "manual". That breaks the promise that a committed file can never loosen the policy.

It also has 10 SHOULDs. The main ones:

• Hints that don't work as printed. The hint "upload with: entire checkpoint push" uploads nothing; a bare checkpoint push only lists IDs and exits 1.
• not_waiting exits 1. A push that already succeeded counts as a failure when re-run.
• --json refusals print plain text. Refusals and errors write a sentence to stderr and no JSON.
• Unrelated edits in the diff. The map-capacity changes in review/picker.go and settings.go belong in their own change.

I'll merge this with the other four reports and give you per-change verdicts once they're all in.

The cli/1712 review (first-push question) is back with a verdict of merge. It found no MUSTs.

What it checked and found working:

• Git's list of refs is fully read before the question is shown.
• The question opens its own terminal correctly.
• No outer timeout cuts it off.
• Ctrl-C cancels the push and saves nothing.
• Answering "manual" already holds that same push.
• Reads fail closed, and a push never shows two Entire questions.
• It built the binary and ran the entire enable suggestion exactly as printed; the suggestion works.

SHOULDs, most important first:

1. 15s is too short. The question is 9 lines with 3 options. If the time runs out it counts as "not now", the question is snoozed for 7 days, and that push uploads anyway. Use its own 30–60s constant.
2. "[n] Not now" reads like "don't upload this time". It actually means "upload as usual". Spell that out in the option text.
3. Agents with a real terminal could see the question. This applies to Codex and other agents that run in a pseudo-terminal; Claude Code was confirmed safe. Such an agent could stall for 15s, or answer the question and set the clone's policy. The commit-linking prompt has the same exposure, so this is a product decision.
4. A missing warning. If someone answers manual on a clone with an old pre-push hook, the "cannot check what your push sends" warning never appears.
5. A false claim. The comment and the docs say "OPF already asks on every push", which is wrong when prompt_default is set.
6. A late answer can overwrite a newer one. The answer is saved without checking whether a policy was set in the meantime.
7. Typing is lost after a timeout. Keys typed after the question times out are swallowed while the hook keeps running. This one is minor.

Still waiting on three reviewers: 1704 principal/regressions, 1704 security, and 1707.

The security reviewer for cli/1704 has finished. Its verdict is do not merge, and it reproduced the backend-switch leak the Go/API reviewer had flagged.

MUST: transcripts upload under manual once the backend is git-branch.

• Repro: in a scratch copy, it set up git-refs with manual, and the first git push held the checkpoint. It then switched the backend to git-branch through ENTIRE_CHECKPOINTS_PRIMARY. The next git push printed "Pushing entire/checkpoints/v1… done", and the remote then held full.jsonl, transcript.jsonl and prompt.txt.
• Cause: the policy is only checked on the refs path (manual_commit_push.go:121). The git-branch path never reads it.
• Four ways the backend can switch to git-branch:
  • a committed .entire/settings.json
  • a checkpoints block that fails to load (this case is untested)
  • configure --checkpoint-backend git-branch
  • the environment variable
• Fix: put the policy check above the backend choice in prePush, failing closed, and make configure --checkpoint-backend refuse the switch while manual is set.

SHOULDs:

1. A race skips the OPF filter. checkpoint push decides whether to run OPF from a snapshot of the queue. A ref queued between that snapshot and the actual drain uploads without the OPF rewrite.
2. ENTIRE_TEST_TTY=1 works in production builds. An agent can set it to get past the terminal check, and --all then uploads with no confirmation.
3. Older binaries can silently undo manual. When an older Entire binary rewrites clone preferences, it drops the policy key, so the clone goes back to automatic.
4. "checkpoint_push_policy": null reads as automatic instead of failing closed.
5. attach under manual gives the wrong message. It says "did not reach" when it should say the checkpoint is held.

It checked these and found no issue: the pinned commit is exactly what gets pushed, the migration push and trail create go through the gate, linked worktrees read the same policy, and nothing sensitive appears in logs.

Two reviews are still running: 1704 principal engineer plus regressions, and 1707.

The cli/1707 review is back. Its verdict is merge, with no MUSTs.

Git compatibility: the reviewer checked this with real git 2.56. The refusal correctly handles:

• deletions
• SHA-256 repos
• --mirror, --all, and wildcard refspecs
• pushes renamed to a different destination ref
• short ref names
• empty stdin

The change also has no effect on a normal push under automatic, and core's 2 newer local commits merge cleanly into this branch.

SHOULDs:

1. The refusal matches ref names, so there are bypasses. It checks ref names, not the commits being sent. The reviewer showed these all send held content and are not refused:

   • git push origin <oid>:refs/heads/x
   • entire/checkpoints/v1~0:refs/heads/x
   • a short entire/checkpoints/ab/…~0 name

   Fix: also refuse when the local oid matches a waiting checkpoint tip or v1. Otherwise, say in the docs that --no-verify isn't the only way around it.

2. Disabling Entire also turns off the refusal (hooks_git_cmd.go:236). "enabled": false can come from the committed .entire/settings.json, so a teammate can make a manual clone's --mirror push publish everything.

3. No warning for an old hook when the policy can't be read. The old-hook warning stays quiet in that case, even though an unreadable policy also holds checkpoints back.

4. The attach --help text is out of date. It still says the checkpoint "is pushed right away", which isn't true under manual.

5. The policy check is copied in 3 places. Fixes 2 and 3 would each need to be made three times.

6. Nit: a misleading //nolint:errcheck on a comma-ok assertion.

Only the 1704 principal-engineer and regressions review is still running. I'll give you the full verdict summary once it's in.

Trail #2630 review: cli/1704 should not merge yet, 1707 and 1712 can

Overall: fix one MUST in cli/1704 before merging; 1707 and 1712 can merge, with SHOULDs. Trail: https://entire.com/gh/entireio/-/trails/2630

The problem

Every queued checkpoint, which holds the session transcript, uploads on the next git push. Redaction only catches secrets it recognises, and today you can't keep checkpoints on the machine (ENT-3141, part of ENT-3132).

How the stack solves it

• cli/1704 adds a policy for each clone: automatic (the default, today's behaviour) or manual. It also adds an upload gate, entire checkpoint push, the outgoing listing, and the status and configure changes.
• cli/1707 holds attach under manual, refuses a user's own git push of checkpoint refs, and warns about old pre-push hooks.
• cli/1712 asks once on the first git push whether to use automatic or manual.

Under automatic, nothing changes:

• Status text is byte-identical.
• JSON fields are only added, never changed.
• Retries and chunk sizing are untouched.

Evidence I used: the Trail description, the Linear issue via librarian, and your ENT-3141 design notes. I didn't run entire why or graph impact myself, and the reviewers mostly didn't either. That's a gap.

Verdicts

cli/1704 core: do not merge

MUST: manual doesn't hold checkpoints once the backend is git-branch.

• Three of the five reviewers found this separately, and the security reviewer reproduced it.
• The policy is only checked on the refs path (manual_commit_push.go:121). The v1 path pushes entire/checkpoints/v1 without checking it.
• Any of these switches the backend to git-branch:
  • a committed .entire/settings.json
  • a settings file that fails to parse
  • configure --checkpoint-backend git-branch
  • ENTIRE_CHECKPOINTS_PRIMARY
• status still says "manual" while full transcripts upload. That breaks the change's own rule that a committed file can't loosen the policy.
• Fix:
  • Check the policy at the top of prePush, before it picks a backend, and fail closed there.
  • Make configure --checkpoint-backend refuse git-branch while manual is set.
  • Add an integration test that sets manual, switches the backend, pushes, and asserts nothing reached the remote.

SHOULD:

1. The suggested command uploads nothing. "upload with: entire checkpoint push" lists checkpoints and exits 1. Suggest --all or <id>. Also, the <id>@<commit> hint points at text output that doesn't show commits.
2. attach under manual gives a misleading error. It fails with "did not reach origin" when the policy held the checkpoint.
3. A wrong-typed policy value disables all of Entire, not just uploads. For example, "checkpoint_push_policy": 1. An explicit null reads as automatic instead.
4. Older binaries silently undo manual. They rewrite preferences.json and drop the key. Consider storing the policy where they never write.
5. ENTIRE_TEST_TTY=1 works in production builds, so it gets past the terminal-only checks. With a terminal, --all uploads with no confirmation.
6. A race skips the OPF filter. checkpoint push decides about OPF from a peek at the queue, before it drains it.
7. Exit codes and JSON:
   • not_waiting exits 1.
   • Refusals print text, not JSON, under --json.
   • Bare IDs and --all can be reported "changed" even when no commit was pinned.
8. Under manual, the queue is never compacted. Every push and every status call reads all queued refs.
9. Regression in list --outgoing: it now reads every session's metadata, so one bad middle session errors the whole row.
10. Cleanup:
    • Unrelated map-capacity edits in review/picker.go and settings.go.
    • Tests hardcode the preferences path.
    • Agent guidance should name the checkpoints[].commit field.
    • --checkpoint-push-policy silently ignores --local and --project.
    • The Trail description mentions a background uploader and a CI path that don't exist in this tree.

cli/1707 follow-ups: merge

The reviewer tested git compatibility with real git 2.56 and found it correct: deletes, SHA-256 repos, --mirror, --all, renamed destinations, short names and empty stdin all behave. Core's 2 unpushed commits merge cleanly into this branch.

SHOULD:

1. Ref-name bypasses. The refusal matches ref names, not commits. git push origin <oid>:refs/heads/x and entire/checkpoints/v1~0:refs/heads/x still send held content. Either check the commits being pushed or document the gap.
2. "enabled": false skips the refusal. That setting can come from the committed settings file.
3. An unreadable policy skips the old-hook warning.
4. Stale help text. attach --help still says the checkpoint is "pushed right away".
5. The policy check is copied in 3 places, so fixes 2 and 3 would each need to be made three times.
6. Nit: a misleading //nolint:errcheck on a comma-ok assertion.

cli/1712 first-push question: merge

The reviewer verified:

• The hook reads all of stdin before prompting.
• The prompt opens and closes the terminal correctly.
• No outer timeout cuts it off.
• Ctrl-C cancels the push.
• Answering manual holds that same push.
• No push asks two questions.
• The enable suggestion works when run as printed.

SHOULD:

1. 15s is too short. A timeout counts as "not now", which pushes this time and snoozes the question for 7 days. Give it its own 30–60s constant.
2. "[n] Not now" reads as "don't upload". Add "(this push uploads as usual)".
3. Agents that run in a real terminal (pty), such as Codex, might see the question. Claude Code was confirmed safe. This is a product decision, because the commit-linking prompt has the same exposure.
4. No old-hook warning after answering manual.
5. A doc claim is wrong. "OPF already asks on every push" is false when prompt_default is set.
6. A late answer can overwrite a newer one. It's saved without checking whether a policy was set during the 15s.
7. Typing after a timeout is lost. Minor.

Not verified

• No reviewer drove a real interactive pty git push.
• The Windows hook path wasn't exercised.
• mise run lint and mise run check weren't run.
• The committed-settings variant of the MUST was traced in code but not reproduced on its own.

Review lesson: I'd add one to General.md: "Enforce a policy where the action happens, not only where the setting is chosen. Settings that pick the code path can change after the check runs." Want me to add it?

I can also save the MUST/SHOULD lists as the "previous feedback" block for round 2 of the prompt.

After the full stack (cli/1704, 1707, 1712) merges, here's what a user would see.

If you change nothing, behaviour stays the same.

• The default policy is automatic. Checkpoints upload on git push as they do today, and the status and JSON output stay the same.

The first git push from a terminal asks you once.

• It asks only when checkpoints are waiting to upload and you haven't chosen a policy yet. You get three options:
  • automatic: keep today's behaviour. You aren't asked again.
  • manual: this push and every later one keep checkpoints on your machine.
  • not now: this push uploads as usual, and you're asked again on the next push.
• If you don't answer within 15 seconds, it counts as "not now" and you aren't asked again for 7 days.
• Agents, IDEs and CI never see the question; it appears only from a real terminal.
• OPF users aren't asked. They get a one-time line suggesting manual instead.
• entire enable mentions the option: "To upload only the checkpoints you choose: entire configure --checkpoint-push-policy manual".

On manual, code pushes as usual and checkpoints stay local.

• git push prints [entire] 3 checkpoints waiting, upload with: entire checkpoint push.
• entire status shows the same count.
• entire checkpoint list --outgoing shows what's waiting.
• To upload, you run one of these:
  • entire checkpoint push <id>
  • entire checkpoint push --all
  • entire checkpoint push <id>@<commit>
• Agents can only use the <id>@<commit> form. A checkpoint that has changed since the agent looked isn't sent, and the new commit is shown instead.
• entire attach saves the checkpoint and tells you it's waiting, with the command to upload it.
• If you push Entire's refs yourself (git push --mirror, refs/entire/*), the push is refused. The message names entire checkpoint push and --no-verify.
• To switch back, run entire configure --checkpoint-push-policy automatic.

What can surprise a user if it merges as is:

• The suggested command doesn't upload. A bare entire checkpoint push, the command every hint prints, only lists what's waiting and exits 1. You have to add --all or an ID.
• Waiting 15 seconds uploads. If you take that long reading the question, the push uploads and the question goes away for a week.
• "Not now" sounds like "don't upload this time", but it uploads.
• The main gap: manual can quietly stop working. If the backend turns into git-branch, transcripts upload again while status still says "manual". That can happen through a teammate's committed settings, a config typo, an env var, or configure --checkpoint-backend. This is the cli/1704 MUST.
• An older Entire binary in the same clone can reset you to automatic without telling you.
• Some pushes still get through. Pushing a checkpoint by commit hash or under another ref name (git push origin <oid>:refs/heads/x) isn't refused.

I have enough to propose the fixes. Nothing is edited yet; here's the plan for approval.

The six fixes

1. The backend switch leak (MUST, cli/1704)

• Cause: prePush only checks the policy inside the git-refs branch (manual_commit_push.go:121). The git-branch v1 path below it never reads it.
• Fix:
  • Read the policy in prePush right after the pushDisabled check, before it picks a backend. If the policy is manual or can't be read and the backend is git-branch, push nothing and print [entire] No checkpoints were pushed: the push policy is manual, but this repository uses the git-branch backend, which can't hold checkpoints back. Switch to git-refs or set the policy to automatic.
  • entire status will show the same line.
  • configure --checkpoint-backend git-branch will refuse while the policy is manual.

2. The suggested command doesn't upload (cli/1704)

• Cause: every hint prints a bare entire checkpoint push, which only lists checkpoints and exits 1.
• Fix:
  • Hints in pre-push, status and configure will say entire checkpoint push --all.
  • A bare entire checkpoint push keeps listing but exits 0.
  • Its follow-up text will point at entire checkpoint list --outgoing --json for commits.

3. An older binary resets the policy (cli/1704)

• Cause: the policy shares preferences.json with keys that older binaries rewrite, and they drop keys they don't know.
• Fix: move the policy into its own file, <git common dir>/entire/checkpoint-push-policy, which older binaries never touch. Reads and writes still fail closed and still go through osroot. The feature hasn't shipped, so nothing needs migrating.

4. The 15s timeout (cli/1712)

• Fix: give the question its own 60s constant instead of reusing confirmPromptTimeout. The 7-day snooze stays, so a terminal nobody is watching doesn't pay the wait on every push.

5. "Not now" wording (cli/1712)

• Fix:
  • The option becomes [n] Not now (this push uploads as usual).
  • The timeout message will also say that the push uploaded.

6. Pushing by commit hash (cli/1707)

• Cause: the refusal only matches ref names.
• Fix:
  • Under manual or an unreadable policy, also refuse a pushed line whose local commit equals the tip of a waiting checkpoint ref or of local v1. Under automatic it still does no I/O, so normal pushes aren't affected.
  • The docs will say that copying the content into a brand-new commit still gets past it, the same as --no-verify.

How I'd do it

• Tests first. For each fix I'd write a failing integration test first, then the code:
  • manual, then switch the backend, then push, and check the remote has nothing
  • an old binary rewrites the preferences, and manual still holds
  • push by commit hash is refused
  • the question's timeout and wording
• Order of work: core first (fixes 1–3, on top of its 2 unpushed commits), then merge core into followups (fix 6), then followups into first-push (fixes 4–5). The docs in ref-checkpoint-backend.md get updated in each.
• Checks: mise run check on each branch.
• Not included without your OK: no push, and no Trail description update. Those wait for you.

Tradeoff: fix 3 adds a second file next to preferences.json. The alternative is a git config key such as entire.checkpointPushPolicy, but that file belongs to the user and is easy to edit by hand or overwrite.

Shall I go ahead with all six as described?

I found the design thread: "can someone review this trail? it only has the design for holding checkpoint back before push." It's in Slack channel C0A095SNK32.

That thread is about Soph's suggestion to replace allow/hold with automatic/manual plus entire checkpoint push. The part librarian returned doesn't mention git-branch. The Linear design does say it, though: "The policy applies to the git-refs backend only" and "manual requires the git-refs backend". So you're right: holding on git-branch is out of scope, and my fix 1 would have added exactly that by making the v1 path hold back. I'm dropping it.

What remains is narrower. A clone set to manual can still end up on git-branch: a teammate commits settings, someone runs configure --checkpoint-backend, or someone sets the env var. Then git push uploads while entire status still says "manual". Without adding any hold logic to git-branch, the fix only makes that visible:

Revised fix 1 (cli/1704)

• configure --checkpoint-backend git-branch refuses while the policy is manual. The error says to run --checkpoint-push-policy automatic first.
• entire status and checkpoint list --outgoing stop reporting "manual" when the backend isn't git-refs. Instead they say: Checkpoint push policy manual applies only to the git-refs backend; this repository uses git-branch, so checkpoints upload on git push.
• The git-branch pre-push path stays as it is. Adding a warning line there is the one place this would touch git-branch code. I'd skip it unless you want it.

Fixes 2 to 6 stay as proposed:

• the --all hint and bare push exiting 0
• a separate policy file so older binaries can't reset it
• a 60s question timeout
• "Not now (this push uploads as usual)"
• refusing a push by commit hash under manual

The process also stays the same: failing tests first, mise run check on each branch, no push and no Trail update without you.

Should I go ahead with the revised fix 1 plus fixes 2 to 6? Or do you also want to skip any of fixes 3 (separate policy file) and 6 (hash refusal), since they're the larger ones?

That settles it. Soph wants to remove the branch backend entirely, and selective push only works with refs, so manual stays git-refs only and git-branch gets no hold logic. The revised fix 1 already follows that:

• Refuse switching to git-branch while manual is set. configure --checkpoint-backend git-branch will tell the user to set the policy back to automatic first.
• Stop showing "manual" on git-branch. status and --outgoing will say manual doesn't apply there, instead of claiming checkpoints are held.
• Leave the git-branch push path alone.

This decision isn't written anywhere in the repo, so it's worth saving as an Entire Brain fact:

Want me to save it?

The plan for the code is unchanged: revised fix 1, plus fixes 2 to 6, tests first, mise run check on each branch, and no push or Trail update without you. Can I start on cli/1704?

The fixes are written and their focused tests pass, but nothing is committed yet. Core's full mise run check is still running (lint is clean, the CI tests are still going), and I need your OK on commit messages before carrying the work through the stack.

Done so far:

• Branch-leak finding: dismissed. It was never posted on the Trail, so there was nothing to resolve.
• Brain fact: saved under architecture.checkpoints.backend, because decisions isn't a category.
• cli/1704:
  • The policy now lives in its own file, <git common dir>/entire/checkpoint-push-policy, so an older binary rewriting preferences.json can't reset manual to automatic.
  • Every hint now says entire checkpoint push --all.
  • A bare checkpoint push lists what's waiting and exits 0. It mentions --all only when a terminal is attached, and points to --outgoing --json for commits.
  • New integration tests cover the old-binary case and the bare push.
• cli/1707:
  • Under manual, a push of a waiting checkpoint by commit hash or ~0 expression is now refused.
  • I checked what git actually sends the hook. A plain git push origin HEAD arrives as HEAD, so under automatic the check costs one policy read and stops there.
  • The docs list the bypasses that remain: --no-verify, your own branch created at the checkpoint, an older version, or a rebuilt commit.
• cli/1712: the question now gets its own 60s timeout. "Not now" and the timeout message both say this push uploads as usual. I didn't write tests for these, since they're a wording change and a constant.

Still to do: commit core, merge it into 1707 and 1712, then switch 1712's question to the new policy file API. It currently reads prefs.CheckpointPushPolicy, which no longer exists. After that I'll run mise run check on all three branches. No push.

Proposed commit messages (no attribution trailer, per your Agent Memory):

• cli/1704: checkpoint push: keep the policy in its own file and suggest --all, body: Released binaries drop unknown preferences keys, which released a manual clone. A bare push now lists and exits 0.
• cli/1707: pre-push: refuse a push that sends a held checkpoint by commit, body: Under manual, lines whose source is not a full ref name are compared with waiting checkpoint tips.
• cli/1712: first-push question: wait 60s and say that Not now still uploads

One thing to decide: core's earlier change that keeps unknown keys in preferences.json was mainly there to protect the policy. It's less necessary now, but it still protects 1712's snooze keys. I'm leaving it in; say if you'd rather split it out.

Can I commit with these messages and carry on through the stack once core's check passes?

The cli/1704 fixes pass mise run check except for one test unrelated to this work, so they're ready to commit with your OK.

• Lint, formatting, integration tests and the canary: clean.
• TestProbeConfigDir_AsksClaude: failed once with "claude exited without answering initialize". It starts the real claude binary, its package isn't touched by this branch, and it passed 3 out of 3 times when run on its own. It looks like a flake from running under load, not something these changes caused.

I still need your OK on the three commit messages from my last message. Once I have it, I'll:

1. Commit 1704.
2. Merge it into 1707 and 1712.
3. Switch 1712's question to the new policy file.
4. Run mise run check on all three branches.

Nothing gets pushed.

The vet of every cli package is slower than expected and is now running in the background. I'll pick up once it finishes.

The fixes are committed on all three branches, and the focused unit and integration tests pass on each. The full mise run check for 1707 and then 1712 is running in the background now. Core already passed it, apart from the one claudecode flake.

cli/1704 (core), 9e8143aaa3:

• The policy now lives in its own file, entire/checkpoint-push-policy, so an older binary rewriting preferences.json can't reset manual to automatic.
• Every hint now suggests --all.
• A bare entire checkpoint push lists what's waiting and exits 0.

cli/1707, 668cd5d6c8 plus the merge of core:

• Under manual, a push that sends a waiting checkpoint by commit hash or as an expression is now refused.
• The merge commit also adapts 1707's tests to the new policy file, and its refusal message now suggests --all.

cli/1712, 605a735dff plus the merge of 1707:

• The question now waits 60 seconds.
• "Not now" and the timeout message both say this push uploads as usual.
• The question now reads and saves the policy file instead of preferences.json. In doing that I also fixed a late-answer problem the reviewer had flagged: a policy chosen while the question was waiting now wins over the answer. A new test covers it.
• The snooze and OPF keys stay in preferences.json, where losing one only brings the question back.

Nothing has been pushed, and the Trail description is unchanged. It still says the policy lives in preferences.json and that the question waits 15 seconds, so it needs an update before you publish.

I'll report back when the checks finish.

I'll push all three once the 1707 and 1712 checks pass. This repo requires lint to pass on the current tree before any push. I'll do it when the background run reports back.

Here's the new Trail description for your approval. It passes the editor render check, which is a dry run that writes nothing. The current text also has no blank lines or headings, so it shows up as one block; this version fixes that.

What changed from the current text:

• The policy is stored in its own file, entire/checkpoint-push-policy, not in clone preferences.
• Hints say --all, and a bare checkpoint push lists what's waiting and exits 0.
• The upload paths no longer include the background uploader or CI, since neither exists. The "picker" mention is gone for the same reason.
• 1707 also refuses a push by commit hash or expression.
• 1712 waits 60s, explains "not now", and keeps a policy chosen while the question waited.
• New lines say manual is git-refs only, and the "Not covered" list includes the ref-of-your-own bypasses.

Should I write this to Trail #2630? The push is still waiting on the 1707 and 1712 checks, and I'll do it when they pass.

I've written the new description to Trail #2630 (https://entire.com/gh/entireio/-/trails/2630). Reading it back gave the same 38 blocks the script sent, so it was stored intact.

Nothing is pushed yet. The full checks on 1707 and 1712 are still running in the background, and I'll push all three branches once they pass.

About 7 to 10 more minutes. Here's where each check stands:

• 1707: finished in about 13 minutes. Lint is clean. Four tests failed, all timing out while starting subprocesses (the real claude binary and external agent binaries).
  • All four pass when re-run on their own.
  • None of their code is changed on this branch. The only file under those directories that changes is a 7-line RepositoryCommonDir helper in checkpoint/repository_metadata.go, which those tests don't exercise.
  • So I'm treating them as flakes caused by machine load, not by this work.
• 1712: lint passed at 15:03, and its tests have been running since. Going by 1707's run, they need roughly another 7 to 10 minutes.

When 1712 finishes, I'll push all three branches unless it shows a real failure.

Core (cli/1704) and followups (cli/1707) are pushed. 1712 waits on its cli package re-run, which I'll push as soon as it passes. After that I'll check the Trail findings on all three changes.

All three branches are pushed and Trail #2630's description is updated. None of the three changes has any findings on the Trail yet, but the runners may not have finished on the new commits, so I'll check again later.

Pushed:

• cli/1704 (muskan/checkpoint-holds-core) at 9e8143aaa3
• cli/1707 (muskan/checkpoint-holds-followups) at ff478678ff
• cli/1712 (muskan/checkpoint-holds-first-push-question) at 7979931171

Checks:

• Lint: clean on all three trees.
• cli/1704: the full mise run check passed except one test.
• cli/1707: the full check failed on four tests, all of them subprocess timeouts.
• cli/1712: the full check failed when the cli test package hit Go's 10-minute timeout.
• Re-runs: every one of those failures passed when re-run on its own; the cli package took 159s.
• I ran the three checks back to back, which loaded the machine. None of the failing tests' code is changed on these branches, so I'm treating them as flakes.

Not done:

• A real interactive git push that shows the first-push question in a terminal. Under test the prompt reads nothing, so the 60s wait and the "Not now" wording haven't been seen on screen.
• The Windows hook path.

Trail: https://entire.com/gh/entireio/-/trails/2630

Only some of them. We fixed the six gaps I listed in the user-experience summary, plus one more, but most of the reviewers' other SHOULDs are still open. When you said "fix the rest", I took it to mean that list of six, not every SHOULD.

Addressed:

• Branch leak (MUST, 1704): dismissed, because git-branch is out of scope.
• Bare checkpoint push (1704): the suggested command now uploads, a bare run lists and exits 0, and it points at --outgoing --json for commits.
• Policy reset by older binaries (1704): fixed by moving the policy into its own file.
• "checkpoint_push_policy": null and wrong-typed policy values (1704): both fixed by the same move. The value is now one word in its own file.
• Push by commit hash or ~0 expression (1707): now refused.
• Question timeout (1712): now 60s. "Not now" and the timeout message both say the push uploads.
• Late answer overwriting a newer choice (1712): fixed.

Still open:

cli/1704

• ENTIRE_TEST_TTY=1 works in production builds, and --all uploads without asking for confirmation.
• The OPF filter can be skipped by a race between peeking at the queue and draining it.
• not_waiting exits 1, and --json refusals print text instead of JSON.
• "changed" is reported even when no commit was pinned.
• Unrelated refs produce warnings and failures for a named push.
• attach under manual says "did not reach origin" instead of "held". This is partly covered in 1707.
• The queue is never compacted under manual.
• list --outgoing now reads every session, and one bad middle session errors the whole row.
• --checkpoint-push-policy silently ignores --local and --project.
• The status warning about an unreadable policy also appears on git-branch, where the policy doesn't apply.
• Unrelated map-capacity changes are in the diff.
• Agent guidance should name checkpoints[].commit.

cli/1707

• "enabled": false, which can come from committed settings, skips the push refusal.
• The old-hook warning is skipped when the policy can't be read.
• attach --help still says the checkpoint "is pushed right away".
• The policy check is copied in three places.
• A misleading //nolint:errcheck.

cli/1712

• Agents running in a terminal (such as Codex) might see the question. This is a product decision.
• No old-hook warning after the user answers manual.
• The comment and doc claim "OPF already asks on every push", which is false when prompt_default is set.
• Keystrokes typed after a timeout are swallowed.

I'd fix next, in this order:

1. "enabled": false skipping the refusal. A committed setting can loosen a clone's privacy choice.
2. ENTIRE_TEST_TTY working in production builds.
3. The OPF race.
4. The stale help and doc text: attach --help, and the OPF claim.

Should I take these four, or go through the whole open list?

Three of the four fixes are in and committed locally; I've held off on ENTIRE_TEST_TTY until you decide how far to take it. mise run check is now running on all three branches, one after another, which takes about 35 minutes. Nothing is pushed.

Fixed:

• OPF race (cli/1704): entire checkpoint push now sends only checkpoints that were already waiting when it decided whether OPF runs. One queued after that is reported as not waiting instead of being sent unscanned. New unit tests cover this.
• "enabled": false (cli/1707): a disabled repository, whether from entire disable or a committed setting, still refuses a push that would send what manual holds back. I reproduced the leak with a failing integration test, and that test now passes.
• Stale text:
  • attach --help in cli/1707 now says that under manual the checkpoint waits for entire checkpoint push.
  • The "OPF already asks on every push" claim in cli/1712's comment, test and doc now says OPF can ask, unless prompt_default answers for it.
• Gap found while merging into cli/1712: after someone answers "manual" to the first-push question, the re-check looked only at ref names, so a push by commit hash still went through on that first push. It now runs the commit check too. I confirmed the new test fails without the fix and passes with it.

Commit messages (local only):

• cli/1704: checkpoint push: send only refs that were waiting when OPF was decided
• cli/1707: pre-push: keep refusing held checkpoint pushes when Entire is disabled
• cli/1712: first-push question: OPF can ask on a push, not on every push

Decision needed on ENTIRE_TEST_TTY:

• The integration tests build the normal binary and use ENTIRE_TEST_TTY=1 to fake a terminal for every command that prompts. Turning it off in real builds means adding a build tag to those test builds and to the E2E harness, which affects every command that prompts, not just this feature.
• It's also low value here. Even without it, an agent can read the commit from --outgoing --json and run entire checkpoint push <id>@<commit>, and the docs already call the terminal check a speed bump rather than a control.
• I'd skip the code change and just add ENTIRE_TEST_TTY to the docs' list of ways around the speed bump.

Should I skip it and only document it, or do the build-tag change? And once the checks pass, can I push the three branches?

The first question to ask is whether the check is a security boundary or just a guardrail. That answer decides how much effort it deserves.

1. Ask who you're defending against.

A boundary only holds if the attacker can't reach what's behind it. Here the "attacker" is an agent running as the same user, in the same shell, with the same file access. Without ENTIRE_TEST_TTY, that agent can still:

• run entire checkpoint push <id>@<commit>, which is the supported non-terminal path;
• edit .git/entire/checkpoint-push-policy to say automatic;
• run git push --no-verify with refs/entire/*.

So the terminal check can't stop a determined agent. It stops an agent that is just following instructions. That makes it a guardrail.

2. For guardrails, aim for honest, not airtight.

• Make the default path the safe one. Agents get <id>@<commit>, so they upload only a version they've seen.
• Write the known bypasses down in the threat model. Our docs already call the check "a speed bump for agents, not a control".
• Make bypasses visible rather than impossible. For example, checkpoint push could print a warning when ENTIRE_TEST_TTY is set outside a test.
• Don't spend complexity hardening one door while three others stand open.

3. For real boundaries, test hooks can't ship in the product. That's when you reach for:

• Build tags. For example, //go:build testhooks around the override, with test harnesses running go build -tags testhooks. The shipped binary can't be talked into it.
• Dependency injection for in-process tests. Pass in a prompter or terminal interface, so tests swap the implementation instead of setting an env var.
• Link-time variables (-ldflags -X), for settings that only test builds change.

The cost is that every harness has to build the special binary, and the tests then exercise a slightly different binary from the one users run. That cost is only worth paying when the boundary is real.

4. Real controls live where the actor can't reach. If Entire ever needs "an agent cannot upload checkpoints without a human", the local CLI can't enforce it, because the agent owns the machine. It would have to happen out of band. Two options:

• Server-side approval: uploads stay pending until someone approves them on entire.io.
• A human-presence check the agent can't fake: for example, an OS-level confirmation.

That would be a product decision, not a CLI fix.

Applied here: the terminal check is a guardrail, and ENTIRE_TEST_TTY is one bypass among several easier ones. My recommendation:

• Leave the code alone.
• Add ENTIRE_TEST_TTY to the documented bypass list.
• Optionally, have checkpoint push print a warning when the variable is set outside tests.

The build-tag change would make sense only if we later decide this check must be a hard control, and by point 4 the CLI couldn't deliver that anyway.

This is a reusable review lesson. Want me to propose it for General.md? Something like: "Before hardening a check, name who it defends against; if that actor has other equal-cost bypasses, document the check as a guardrail instead of hardening one path."

It only changes what an agent can do with entire checkpoint push, a command whose whole job is to upload. Everything that holds checkpoints back works the same.

What it changes:

• Without it: an agent has no terminal, so entire checkpoint push --all and entire checkpoint push <id> are refused. The only form that works is <id>@<commit>, so the agent uploads exactly the version it looked at. If the checkpoint has changed since, the agent has to re-read and ask again.
• With ENTIRE_TEST_TTY=1 set:
  • --all passes the terminal check and uploads everything waiting at once, with no confirmation.
  • A bare <id> uploads whatever the latest version is, without pinning a commit.

What it doesn't change:

• Under manual, git push still sends no checkpoints.
• Pushing Entire's refs yourself (by ref name, by commit, --mirror, or in a disabled repo) is still refused.
• Policy reads still fail closed, and repository settings still can't loosen the policy.
• The first-push question: under the override it never reads an answer. It counts as "not now", which is the same as an agent never seeing it.

Why the impact is small: an agent that wants to upload everything can already do it without the override. It reads the commits from entire checkpoint list --outgoing --json and passes each as <id>@<commit>. The override only saves it that step and skips the version pin.

In both cases, what stops an agent from uploading is the agent-help guidance: "Never run this unless the user explicitly asks". The variable doesn't change that, which is why I documented it rather than hardening the code.

Repo state:

• The doc line is committed on core and merged forward into 1707 and 1712.
• mise run check is still running on the three branches. Core's run started before the doc commit, but that change is docs-only.
• Nothing is pushed.

Under manual, the promise is that checkpoints stay on this machine until you run entire checkpoint push. Most ways of sending Entire's refs by hand happen without anyone meaning to upload checkpoints:

• git push --mirror to a backup remote sends every ref, refs/entire/checkpoints/* included.
• A backup script, IDE action or hook manager that pushes "all refs".
• An agent told "push everything" that runs git push origin 'refs/entire/*:refs/entire/*'.
• After this change, pushing a checkpoint's commit under another name, such as <commit>:refs/heads/copy.

Each of these would upload full transcripts that the user chose to keep local, and nothing would tell them.

Why it refuses the whole push instead of dropping those refs: by the time the pre-push hook runs, git has already decided what to send. The hook can't remove single refs from the push. It can only let all of it through or stop all of it.

What the user sees when it refuses:

• The message names the checkpoint ref the push would send.
• It explains how to get the push through:
  • leave the checkpoint refs out (avoid --mirror) and upload with entire checkpoint push --all;
  • or, if you really mean to send them, rerun with git push --no-verify.
• Deleting a remote checkpoint ref is still allowed, because it sends nothing.
• Under automatic none of this happens. Pushing the refs yourself is your call there.

So the refusal is a deliberate stop with an escape hatch. It isn't a lock.

If you'd rather not refuse:

• Warn and let it through: friendlier, but the transcripts are already gone when you read the warning, which defeats manual.
• Refuse only for broad pushes: refuse --mirror and wildcard refspecs, and allow an explicit, named checkpoint ref. A named ref is fairly clearly intentional, though agents can type those too.

I'd keep the refusal, since it's the only one of the three that actually holds the promise. Do you want to change it?

Okay, the refusal stays as it is.

Still open:

• mise run check is running on all three branches, one after another. Core's run started before the docs-only ENTIRE_TEST_TTY commit; 1707 and 1712 run on their latest commits.
• Once the checks pass, should I push the three branches and then check the Trail findings? There are four new commits: the OPF race, the disabled-repo refusal, the OPF wording, and the ENTIRE_TEST_TTY docs line.

I'll push as soon as the checks finish and then check the Trail findings.

Core (cli/1704) is pushed at 65266352fb. I'll push 1707 and 1712 as their checks pass, around 15:46 and 16:00, and then check the Trail findings.

The findings are in: 12 on the new commits, 1 High, 2 Medium and 9 Low. Most have a clear fix. Two need a decision from you. Here's the plan; I haven't edited anything yet.

High (cli/1707): the push refusal still depends on the checked-out branch.

• Problem: the policy, the queue and refs/entire/checkpoints/* belong to the whole clone. But the refusal checks the current branch's settings. Check out a branch without a checkpoints block, a branch from before .entire/ existed, or one with "enabled": false, and git push --mirror uploads held checkpoints. The runner reproduced this with real hooks. Today's disabled-repo fix covers only the "enabled": false case.
• Fix:
  • For pushes involving refs/entire/checkpoints/*, and for the push-by-commit check, read the policy from the clone and stop looking at the branch's backend. Those refs exist only because git-refs wrote them.
  • With hooks off, run the check whenever the clone's policy file says manual or can't be read, even on a branch with no .entire/.
  • Keep the backend check only for the entire/checkpoints/v1 line.

Medium (cli/1707): the hook falls back silently when it can't make a temp file.

• Problem: when mktemp fails, the hook runs without the ref list. The user is wrongly told their hook is outdated, and --mirror gets through under manual.
• Fix: the fallback sets its own marker and prints its own message.
• Decision needed: under manual, should an unknown ref list block the push? Old hooks also produce an unknown list. My recommendation:
  • Refuse for the new mktemp-failure case, because a stray temp-directory problem shouldn't release checkpoints.
  • Keep warning for old hooks, because refusing every push from an old hook would be too harsh.

Medium (cli/1712): a lost race still refuses and holds the push.

• Problem: if the user answers "manual" but someone stored automatic while the question was open, the push is still refused and the upload skipped, even though the stored policy says automatic.
• Fix: on a lost race, return "not now" so the stored policy decides.

Lows I'd fix:

• cli/1704:
  • Load the policy in status and --outgoing only on git-refs, so git-branch doesn't show false warnings.
  • ListOutgoingCheckpoints should report a bad checkpoints config instead of claiming the repo uses git-branch.
  • For --all or a bare ID, replace "changed since you looked" with "a newer version was written during the push; run again".
  • Add the missing test for the policy check inside flushCheckpointRefsQueue.
• cli/1707: when attach couldn't queue the checkpoint, stop claiming it's "waiting".
• cli/1712:
  • Drop the duplicate "upload with" line after a manual answer.
  • Treat a snooze date further out than 7 days as broken (clock skew), and ask.

Low that needs a decision:

• Leaked terminal reader (cli/1712): after the 60s timeout, a background read stays blocked on the terminal and can swallow the next line typed, such as a git credential prompt during the upload.
• Proper fix: a reader that can be cancelled. On macOS that's uncertain, so I'd have to test it in a pty first.
• Cheaper option: just correct the doc comment.
• My recommendation: try the cancellable reader, and fall back to the comment if it doesn't work cleanly on macOS.

Docs-only (cli/1704): an older Entire binary in the same clone ignores the policy entirely; the runner saw main's pre-push upload a held checkpoint. Nothing in these changes can prevent that. I'd add it to the backend doc and to the Trail's "Not covered" list. The Trail write would add this one line: "An older Entire binary in the same clone (a second install, a sandbox, a rollback) ignores the policy, and its pre-push uploads everything waiting."

After the fixes: I'll resolve each finding on the Trail with a short -m note, and show you those notes before posting.

Should I go ahead? And for the two decisions: refuse on the mktemp failure, and try the cancellable reader?

The settings that decide whether the refusal runs live inside the files of whatever commit you have checked out. The things it protects live in .git and belong to the whole clone.

What lives where

Settings are part of the checked-out tree:

• .entire/settings.json is a committed file, so its content changes when you switch branches.
• It holds enabled and the checkpoint backend (checkpoints.primary).
• IsSetUpAndEnabled and primaryBackendIsGitRefs both read it from the worktree you're in.

The clone state is in the git common dir and is the same on every branch:

• the policy file .git/entire/checkpoint-push-policy
• the push queue
• the checkpoint refs refs/entire/checkpoints/*
• the installed hooks

A push like git push --mirror sends clone state. It sends every ref no matter which branch you're on.

How it leaks today

1. On main, .entire/settings.json selects git-refs, and you've set manual. Five checkpoints are waiting in refs/entire/checkpoints/*.
2. You git checkout release/1.4, a branch cut before Entire was added, so it has no .entire/.
3. You run git push --mirror backup.
4. The pre-push hook starts and asks "is Entire set up and enabled here?" It reads the tree, finds no .entire/, and answers no. The hooks switch off.
5. Nothing checks the ref list, and git sends all five held checkpoints.

The same thing happens on a branch whose settings have no checkpoints block, because the backend then reads as git-branch and the check says manual doesn't apply. And it happens on a branch with "enabled": false; today's fix covers only that last case. In each case, the question "is this clone holding checkpoints back?" gets answered by a file that changes when you switch branches.

What the flow should be

Split the hook into two questions and answer each from the right place.

Question 1: may this push send checkpoint data? Answer it from clone state only, first, on every branch.

1. Read git's ref list from stdin, whatever the settings say.

2. Read the clone's policy file:

   • missing or automatic: nothing is held, so go on to question 2;
   • manual or unreadable: protect.

3. If protecting, refuse the push when any line:

   • touches refs/entire/checkpoints/*, on either side;
   • or sends a commit that is the current tip of a waiting checkpoint.

   No backend check is needed: those refs exist only because git-refs wrote them, whatever this branch's settings say today.

4. The one tree-dependent exception is the entire/checkpoints/v1 line. It's the git-branch store, which manual doesn't cover, so it keeps the backend check.

Question 2: what does Entire do on this push? Answer it from tree state, as today: whether Entire is enabled here, which backend is primary, and whether to run its own upload. Only this part should switch off on a branch without .entire/.

This puts the refusal at the action it guards, keyed on state that can't change by switching branches. It's the same lesson as the review rule I suggested earlier: enforce a policy where the action happens, not where the setting happens to be read.

One cost: with the policy set to manual, the hook now reads the ref list and the policy file on every push, even on branches where Entire is otherwise off. A clone that never chose manual pays one missing-file check per push.

Is this the flow you want? If so, I'll implement it in cli/1707 along with the rest of the fixes.

The hook already runs on every push. Git starts entire hooks git pre-push for every git push once the hook is installed, even on branches where Entire is off; today it just exits early there. So the new work isn't an extra run, only what the hook does before it exits. And it has to happen per push, because pre-push is the only moment anything sees what a push is about to send. Any push could be the --mirror.

The real cost is starting the entire process, which is tens of milliseconds and paid today anyway. If the checks run cheapest first, almost every push pays only one file check:

1. Check whether the policy file exists. This is one filesystem call, a few microseconds. A clone that never chose manual has no file, so the hook stops there and doesn't even read the ref list. That's nearly every clone.
2. If the policy is manual, or the file can't be read, parse the ref list git sent and compare names. This is in memory, with no repository I/O. A normal git push origin main has no refs/entire/checkpoints/* line, so it stops here.
3. Only for lines whose source isn't a full ref name, open the repository and compare against waiting checkpoint tips. That's the push-by-hash case, and it's rare.

So the cost becomes "one file check per push, and a little more only for people who chose manual." That's the solution I'd implement now.

A better long-term fix: the hook has to guard the push because held checkpoints live in normal refs under refs/, which --mirror, wildcard refspecs and anything that pushes "all refs" can reach. If held checkpoints lived somewhere git push can't see, there would be nothing to guard. One way:

• keep held checkpoints in a separate local store, such as a small repository under .git/entire/;
• create the real refs/entire/checkpoints/* ref only when entire checkpoint push uploads.

That removes the refusal, the push-by-hash check and the branch-dependence bug at once. It's a real redesign, though: queue, storage, list --outgoing and reads of held checkpoints would all change. And older binaries would still see whatever is in refs/.

Other options don't hold:

• Git's negative refspecs (^refs/entire/* in remote.*.push) are ignored by --mirror and by refspecs typed on the command line.
• Server-side rejection isn't possible on GitHub remotes we don't control.

My recommendation: do the cheapest-first hook flow now in cli/1707, and record "keep held checkpoints outside refs/" as a follow-up for the Trail's open questions or a Linear ticket. Should I go with that, together with the rest of the finding fixes, refusing on the mktemp failure and trying the cancellable reader?

The findings log is drafted, but it isn't saved anywhere permanent yet. Your instructions now point the vault at ~/Obsidian/Life OS, which doesn't exist on this machine. The existing ENT-3141 notes are still in the iCloud vault, which those instructions say never to write to again.

What the log covers:

• Every finding from both rounds: the five local reviewers, then the Trail runners on the pushed commits.
• For each one, its status (fixed, dismissed, open, or fixed in a later change) and the commit that fixed it.

Findings fixed in a different change than the one they were raised on:

• Raised on cli/1704, fixed in cli/1707: attach under manual said "did not reach origin". 1707 now makes attach print the "waiting" line.
• cli/1707 High, partly fixed: the "enabled": false part of the branch-dependence finding was already fixed in 1707 (140f6b267d). The runner reviewed code from before that commit, so only the rest of the finding is still open.
• Caused by a later fix: the cli/1712 Medium (a lost race still holds the push) was introduced by the late-answer fix (7979931171).

The draft is at /private/tmp/claude-501/-Users-muskanpaliwal-Work-entireio-cli-ent-3141-explore-holding-checkpoints-back-before-push/bb0c2f72-c4d5-40bf-8aaa-5f5a5b744a2c/scratchpad/ENT-3141 Findings Log.md. It's temporary until you pick where it lives.

Two questions:

1. Where should the log live? Your choices:
   • create it at ~/Obsidian/Life OS/Work/Entire/ENT-3141 Findings Log.md, if the vault move is happening;
   • keep it as an untracked file in the core worktree;
   • add it to Trail #2630's description.
2. Keeping held checkpoints outside refs: build that redesign now on this stack, or ship the hook fixes first and record the redesign as a follow-up thread on Trail #2630? I recommend the second.

Plain refs can work, and keeping them is fine. The runtime cost is tiny. What a separate store would buy is a guarantee the hook can't give.

Why plain refs are fine for now: the hook costs one file check per push, and its logic is fixed and small. The choice is between two ways of protecting the same data.

Guarding refs at push time (today's design):

• Held checkpoints are ordinary refs, so anything that pushes "all refs" can send them. Only the pre-push hook stands in the way.
• A hook is advisory. It doesn't run when:
  • someone uses --no-verify;
  • an older Entire binary handles the push and ignores the policy;
  • the push comes from a tool that doesn't run git hooks at all. Some GUI clients and libraries (go-git, some libgit2-based tools) push refs directly.
• The guard has to understand every way a push can name checkpoint data: names, commit hashes, expressions, mirror, the current branch's settings, and a hook fallback with an unknown ref list. Each review round has found another one. The logic is cheap to run but expensive to get right and keep right.

Keeping held data out of reach (separate store):

• No push mechanism can send what isn't in refs/, so the guarantee doesn't depend on the hook, the client or the binary version.
• The refusal logic, the push-by-commit check and the branch-dependence problem all go away.
• The costs:
  • a second object store;
  • copying objects into the main repository on upload;
  • every reader of held checkpoints has to look in two places;
  • a migration for checkpoints already held.

When the follow-up becomes worth it: if users report checkpoints leaking through clients that don't run hooks, or if the guard keeps growing new cases. Until then, the hook with the cheapest-first flow is a reasonable trade.

I'll record it as a follow-up in the findings log now. I can also add it to the Trail's open questions, worded like this:

Keep held checkpoints outside refs/ (a separate local store, with the real ref created only on upload), so --mirror, clients that skip hooks, and older binaries cannot send them. The pre-push guard covers today's paths but is advisory.

Starting now on cli/1707: the cheapest-first, clone-level hook flow for the High finding. Two decisions still affect the rest:

1. mktemp failure (Medium): refuse the push under manual when the hook couldn't capture the ref list (my recommendation), or only warn?
2. Leaked terminal reader (Low): try a cancellable reader (my recommendation), or only correct the doc comment?

Also: should I add the follow-up to the Trail's open questions, and where should the findings log live?

Here's the Linear ticket draft for your approval. Nothing is created yet.

• Team: Entire
• Project: entire-cli
• Parent: ENT-3132 (the same parent as ENT-3141)
• Related to: ENT-3141
• Status: Backlog
• Assignee: you (I can leave it unassigned instead)
• Link: Trail #2630

Title: Keep held checkpoints outside refs/ until they are uploaded

Description:

Under the manual checkpoint push policy (ENT-3141, Trail https://entire.com/gh/entireio/-/trails/2630), held checkpoints are still ordinary refs under refs/entire/checkpoints/*. Anything that pushes all refs can send them: git push --mirror, a refs/* refspec, a backup script, or a client that pushes refs directly. Today only Entire's pre-push hook stops that, and a hook is advisory:

• git push --no-verify skips it.
• An older Entire binary in the same clone ignores the policy.
• Clients that don't run git hooks (some GUI clients, go-git and some libgit2 tools) never call it.

The guard also has to recognize every way a push can name checkpoint data (ref names, commits, expressions, mirror, the checked-out branch's settings, a hook that couldn't capture the ref list). Each review round has found another case.

Proposal: keep held checkpoints in a separate local store that git push can't see, such as a small repository under .git/entire/ whose refs protect the objects from gc. entire checkpoint push copies the objects into the main repository and creates the real refs/entire/checkpoints/* ref only at upload. Nothing pushable exists until the user uploads it.

What it removes: the pre-push refusal, the push-by-commit check, and the guard's dependence on the hook running.

Costs to weigh:

• a second object store, and copying objects on upload;
• every reader of held checkpoints (explain, resume, list --outgoing, search) has to look in two places;
• migrating checkpoints that are already held;
• older binaries still see whatever is in refs/.

When to do it: if users report held checkpoints leaking through clients that skip hooks, or if the pre-push guard keeps needing new cases.

Should I create it? And should it be assigned to you or left unassigned? While you look, I'll start the code fixes in cli/1707.

Four of the 12 Trail findings are left, all on cli/1712. The other 8 are fixed in code, but none of those fixes are pushed yet, and none of the 12 are resolved on the Trail.

Fixed (not pushed yet):

• cli/1704, all 5:
  • status reads the policy only on git-refs.
  • A broken checkpoints config is reported as a config error, instead of claiming the repository uses git-branch.
  • Pushes that didn't pin a commit no longer say "since you looked".
  • The policy check inside flushCheckpointRefsQueue now has a test. I confirmed it fails when the check is removed.
  • The docs note that an older binary ignores the policy; the Trail's "Not covered" list already says so.
• cli/1707, all 3, tests passing but not committed yet:
  • High: the push refusal now uses only the clone's policy file and git's ref list. It also refuses on a branch without .entire/, or where the backend reads as git-branch.
  • Medium: when the hook can't save the ref list, it now says so instead of claiming the hook is outdated, and it refuses the push under manual while checkpoints are waiting.
  • Low: attach returns an error instead of saying "waiting" when the checkpoint couldn't be queued.

Still to fix, all on cli/1712:

• Medium: if someone else stored a policy while the question was open, the user's "manual" answer still refuses and holds the push. It should defer to the stored policy.
• Low: the "upload with" hint is printed twice after a manual answer.
• Low: a snooze date far in the future (clock skew) hides the question for too long.
• Low: the terminal read left running after the 60s timeout can swallow the next line the user types.

Next I'll commit 1707, merge everything forward, fix those four in 1712, run the checks, and push. Then I'll draft a short resolve note for each finding and show them to you before posting.

All 12 findings are fixed in local commits. While the checks run (about 35 minutes for the three branches), here are the resolve notes I'll post on the Trail once the commits are pushed. They follow your public-thread style: lowercase, first person, no thanks.

cli/1704

• 01M63JCR3J4X (status on git-branch): "status now reads the policy only when git-refs is the primary backend, so git-branch shows no policy line or warning. added an integration test for an unreadable policy file on git-branch."
• 01M63HYWB7D5 (fail-soft backend): "ListOutgoingCheckpoints and PushCheckpoints now use primaryBackendIsGitRefs and return its error, so a broken checkpoints block names the config problem instead of saying git-branch. covered by an integration test with {"type":""}."
• 01M63HYTS2TG ("changed" for unpinned): "for --all and a bare id the text now says a newer version was written while it was uploading and to run the command again. the json status stays changed and the exit stays non-zero."
• 01M63HYS9M53 (flush test): "added a test that calls flushCheckpointRefsQueue directly under manual. it sends nothing and the refs stay queued. i checked that it fails with the policy check removed."
• 01M63HYQJGHB (older binary): "nothing in a newer binary can stop this, so it's now in the backend docs and in the trail's not covered list."

cli/1707

• 01M63HYJJR09 (branch-dependent refusal): "the refusal now decides from the clone's policy file and git's ref list only, and runs whether or not entire's hooks are on for the checked-out branch. per-checkpoint refs no longer need a backend check; only the v1 line keeps one. integration tests cover a branch without .entire and a backend that reads as git-branch, with both --mirror and a refs/entire/* refspec. longer term, ENT-3687 tracks keeping held checkpoints outside refs/."
• 01M63HYMCC9X (mktemp fallback): "the fallback now runs with ENTIRE_PRE_PUSH_STDIN_REFS=0, so it no longer says the hook is outdated. under a holding policy with checkpoints waiting, the push is refused and the message points at TMPDIR and --no-verify. under automatic it passes."
• 01M63HYNWAAV (attach on failed enqueue): "if the checkpoint has its own ref but isn't queued, attach now fails and says so instead of calling it waiting. running attach again queues it. covered by a test with a read-only queue file."

cli/1712

• 01M63GYDATPG (lost race): "on a lost race the question now returns not-now, so the stored policy decides. no refusal and no hold from the losing answer. added a test where automatic is stored while manual is answered."
• 01M63HZ0TSEM (duplicate hint): "the answer line is now just Checkpoint push policy: manual.. the waiting line after it names the command once."
• 01M63HYZ8CAV (leaked tty reader): "the prompt now reads with a deadline when the terminal supports one. i checked on darwin with a pty: the timed-out read returns, and the next line typed reaches the next reader. windows consoles keep the old path, where Close releases the read."
• 01M63HYXTAZM (far-future back-off): "a back-off further out than one period is now treated like a malformed one, so the question comes back."

Do these look right to post once the push is through?

We're fixing all 12 Trail findings and dismissing none. One of them can only be documented, not fixed in code. Separately, our own earlier review still has some items deliberately left open.

Trail findings (12)

• Fixed in code: 11. Each one has a test, and the tests I could check against the old code failed there as expected.
• Fixed in docs only: 1. That's the older-binary finding (01M63HYQJGHB). An older Entire binary doesn't know the policy exists, so no newer code can stop it uploading. It's documented in the backend docs and in the Trail's "Not covered" list. The resolve note says that rather than claiming a code fix. It's a known limitation, not a dismissal.

Dismissed or deferred by decision (from our local review)

• The git-branch leak MUST (cli/1704): dismissed. Manual is git-refs only, and git-branch is planned for removal. That decision is in Brain and on the Trail.
• ENTIRE_TEST_TTY bypass: documented only. The terminal check is a speed bump against agents running as you, not a security control.
• Advisory hook, more generally: deferred to ENT-3687 (keeping held checkpoints outside refs/). The Trail's open questions mention it.

Still open (local-review SHOULDs, never posted to the Trail)

• cli/1704:
  • not_waiting exits 1, and --json refusals print plain text instead of JSON.
  • Unrelated refs produce warnings and failures for a named push.
  • The queue is never compacted under manual.
  • list --outgoing reads every session, so one bad session errors the whole row.
  • --checkpoint-push-policy ignores --local and --project.
  • Unrelated map-capacity changes are in the diff.
  • Agent guidance should name checkpoints[].commit.
• cli/1707: the policy-reading code is copied in places, and there's a misleading //nolint:errcheck.
• cli/1712: agents running in a real terminal (for example Codex) might see the question. This is a product decision, and the commit-linking prompt has the same exposure.

These are recorded in the findings log draft. Do you want any of them fixed before the Trail is marked ready, or should I leave them as follow-ups?

Measured with a real repository on this Mac, averaged over five reads:

• 100 waiting checkpoints: a 10KB queue, about 11ms per read, whether or not it's compacted.
• 1,000 waiting checkpoints: 96KB compacted or 383KB with four lines each, about 113ms compacted versus 117ms not.
• 5,000 waiting checkpoints: 479KB or 1.9MB, about 596ms versus 672ms.

What that shows: duplicate lines barely matter. Compacting saves 3–12%. The cost grows with the number of waiting checkpoints, about 0.11ms each, because each queued ref is looked up one at a time. Compaction wouldn't fix that. The real fix would be listing refs/entire/checkpoints/* once and matching against the queue, instead of one lookup per ref.

Does it matter? Under manual, every git push and entire status pays this. 1,000 checkpoints waiting is months of heavy use without uploading, and adds about a tenth of a second. 5,000 adds about 0.6s.

My recommendation: don't add compaction. Do the single ref listing if you want manual to stay fast for people who rarely upload. It's a contained change to one function. It could go in now or as a follow-up.

Where the rest stands:

• Map-capacity edits: in scope, and should stay. CodeQL raised three go/allocation-size-overflow alerts on this branch's PR (#2921), on exactly those lines, and main has none there. The commit's own message explains it, and all three alerts are now marked fixed.

• Policy-check duplication: two small readers remain, one using the open repository and one avoiding a repository open on the cheap path. I'd leave them.

• The six fixes in core: done and tested, not committed yet:

  • a new not_found status;
  • not_waiting now exits 0;
  • a --json error envelope;
  • refs the user didn't name are left alone;
  • lenient middle-session reads in list --outgoing;
  • the flag help and agent guidance.

  Next, I'll commit them and merge forward through 1707 and 1712.

Do you want the single-ref-listing optimization in this stack or as a follow-up ticket?

Everything is committed and merged through all three branches, and mise run check is running on each in turn (about 35 minutes). Nothing is pushed yet.

For the follow-up, here's a Linear ticket draft in the same setup as ENT-3687: team Entire, project entire-cli, parent ENT-3132, related to ENT-3141, Backlog, assigned to you.

Title: Count waiting checkpoints with one ref listing instead of a lookup per ref

Description:

Under the manual checkpoint push policy (ENT-3141, Trail https://entire.com/gh/entireio/-/trails/2630), checkpoints stay in the push queue until entire checkpoint push uploads them. Every git push and entire status counts the waiting ones through waitingCheckpointRefs, which looks up each queued ref separately (partitionLocalRefs), so the cost grows with the number of waiting checkpoints.

Measured on macOS with a real repository (average of 5 reads):

• 100 waiting: about 11ms
• 1,000 waiting: about 113ms
• 5,000 waiting: about 596ms

Duplicate queue lines barely matter: four lines per ref instead of one adds 3 to 12%, so compacting the queue is not the fix.

Proposal: list refs/entire/checkpoints/* once and match it against the deduplicated queue, instead of one lookup per queued ref. Measure the same cases before and after.

Why it matters: someone who chooses manual and rarely uploads pays this on every push and every status call.

Should I create it? I'll also add the ticket ID to the findings log.

I'd make it a separate issue, a sibling of ENT-3141 under ENT-3132 and linked to it, the same as ENT-3687. Your options:

• Separate issue under ENT-3132 (recommended). ENT-3141 can close when this stack merges, and the follow-up stays visible as its own piece of work. ENT-3687 is already set up this way, so the two follow-ups sit side by side.
• Sub-issue of ENT-3141. It keeps everything under one ticket, but ENT-3141 would then look unfinished until the optimization ships, even though the feature is done.
• Folded into ENT-3687. I wouldn't: that ticket is a storage redesign, and if it lands it replaces this code path. This fix is small and worth doing either way.

Should I create it as a separate issue under ENT-3132?

Core passes lint and its tests are still running; 1707 and 1712 come after it. All three trees are clean. As soon as each branch's check passes I'll push all three, then check for new Trail findings and post the resolve notes you approved.

Of the local-review findings, every one is now fixed, deliberately kept, or ticketed, except two:

Fixed (16):

• cli/1704 (9):
  • the hints that didn't upload when run as printed;
  • a bare entire checkpoint push exiting 1;
  • older binaries dropping the policy key;
  • wrong-typed and null policy values;
  • the OPF race;
  • not_waiting exiting 1, plus the --json error envelope;
  • "changed" for pushes that didn't pin a commit;
  • pushes that named some refs reading and failing on the others;
  • one bad session failing an outgoing row.
• Also on 1704 (2): the flag help about --local and --project, and the agent guidance.
• cli/1707 (3):
  • pushes by commit or expression;
  • the disabled-repository refusal;
  • attach --help.
• cli/1707 (1 more): the missing old-hook warning when the policy can't be read.
• cli/1712 (1, plus three others): the 60s timeout. The other three were the "Not now" wording, the late answer overwriting a newer choice, and the OPF claim.

Kept on purpose (3):

• the map-capacity edits, which clear three CodeQL alerts this branch raised;
• the //nolint:errcheck, which the lint config requires;
• the two policy readers, since the old copies are gone.

Documented, or moved to a ticket (3):

• the ENTIRE_TEST_TTY bypass, documented;
• queue growth, moved to ENT-3688;
• held checkpoints living in refs/, moved to ENT-3687.

Still open (2):

1. No old-hook warning after answering "manual" (cli/1712). The warning runs before the question, while the policy is still unset, so a clone with an old hook that answers manual never sees it. It's a real but small bug: after a manual answer, the warning step needs to run again. I can fix it now, with a test, before 1712's check starts.
2. Agents running in a terminal (pty) seeing the first-push question. This is the product decision we're coming back to.

Should I fix the first one now? It means one more commit on 1712, and its check would include it.

The old-hook warning now appears after a "manual" answer too. It's committed on cli/1712 as b495003322, and the new test fails without the fix. 1712's full check hasn't started yet, so it will include this commit.

The findings log now marks it fixed. The only open local finding left is the product decision about agents running in a pty.

The checks are still running in order: core, then 1707, then 1712. When they pass, I'll push all three, check for new Trail findings, and post the resolve notes.

Core and 1707 are pushed. 1712 isn't pushed yet: its full check is re-running and should take about 13 minutes.

• cli/1704 (core) is pushed at 2062f3965e. Lint is clean. Its only test failures were the two claudecode probe tests that start the real claude binary; they've flaked all day and pass when re-run on their own.
• cli/1707 is pushed at 95ae2e6217. Lint is clean, and its only failure was the same probe flake.
• cli/1712 failed its first check on two lint issues in my changes: an unnamed parameter on an inline interface, and Write used where WriteString was expected. They're fixed in 6a99eca829, and lint now passes. Its tests were cut off when lint failed, so they haven't run on the latest commits yet; that's what the re-run covers.

When 1712 passes, I'll push it, check the Trail for new findings, and post the 12 resolve notes you approved.

The four new findings come down to two real ones, since two point at code that has already changed:

Already fixed (2):

• 01M63K9J6M1S (cli/1707, marked stale): checkOuterPushOfHeldCommits using the fail-soft backend check. The clone-state rewrite in 19bce13fc0 removed the backend check from that path entirely.
• 01M63K9J6F33 (cli/1707): attach saying "waiting" for a checkpoint that isn't queued. It's marked current, but it reads like the earlier 01M63HYNWAAV, which 19bce13fc0 fixed: a checkpoint that isn't queued is now an error, not "waiting". I'll confirm against the pushed code before resolving it.

Real (2):

• 01M63TXHHDN2 (cli/1704): entire checkpoint push --json with no arguments prints to stderr and exits 0 with an empty stdout, which isn't valid JSON.
  • Fix: with no arguments, --json is refused with an error saying to use entire checkpoint list --outgoing --json to see what's waiting. The JSON error envelope already puts that on stdout.
• 01M63TX0X23M (cli/1707): a branch or tag created at a waiting checkpoint's commit (git branch copy <tip>; git push origin copy) sends held content. The commit check only looks at sources that aren't full ref names. I'd listed this as a known bypass in the docs, but it can be closed:
  • Fix: under a holding policy, compare the commit of every line being pushed against the waiting tips, not just lines with odd sources.
  • Cost: the parser has to remember commits for every line, not only checkpoint lines. For a --mirror with 100,000 tags that's about 4MB. Under automatic the check still stops after one policy read.

Resolving findings is blocked: the permission classifier stopped me from posting the 12 resolve notes, as an external write. Nothing was posted. You can either:

• allow entire trail finding resolve for this session, and I'll run the script; or
• run it yourself: ! python3 /private/tmp/claude-501/-Users-muskanpaliwal-Work-entireio-cli-ent-3141-explore-holding-checkpoints-back-before-push/bb0c2f72-c4d5-40bf-8aaa-5f5a5b744a2c/scratchpad/resolve.py. It holds exactly the 12 notes you approved and skips any finding that's already resolved.

Should I fix the two real findings now, and then resolve all of them in one go (the 12, plus these 4 with short notes I'll show you first)?

Both fixes are committed and merged through the stack. The full checks are running on all three branches, about 35 minutes.

Fixes:

• cli/1704 (ec6c4e3ffe): checkpoint push --json with no arguments now refuses. The error goes to stdout as JSON and points at entire checkpoint list --outgoing --json. A new integration test covers it.
• cli/1707 (e634d837fc): the commit check now compares every line being pushed with the waiting checkpoint tips. A branch or tag created at a held checkpoint's commit is now refused, with new refusal cases for both. The parser keeps every line to make that possible, and I updated two parser tests that assumed it didn't.

Approval needed: notes for the four new findings

• 01M63TXHHDN2: "checkpoint push --json with no arguments now refuses, and the error goes out as {"error": ...} on stdout pointing at entire checkpoint list --outgoing --json. added an integration test."
• 01M63TX0X23M: "the commit check now compares every pushed line against waiting checkpoint tips, so a branch or tag created at a held checkpoint's commit is refused too. the parser keeps every line for this. added refusal cases for a branch and a tag."
• 01M63K9J6M1S: "this path no longer reads the backend: since 19bce13fc0 the refusal decides from the clone's policy file and git's ref list, and an unreadable policy holds."
• 01M63K9J6F33: "since 19bce13fc0, a checkpoint that isn't queued is an error from attach, not a waiting line; running attach again queues it. covered by TestAttachCommit_FailedEnqueueIsNotReportedAsWaiting."

Approval needed: the Trail description

Its "Not covered" line still lists a branch at a checkpoint's commit as a bypass. I'd change it to:

A push that sends checkpoint content with --no-verify, or that sends an older version of a checkpoint or a new commit built from its tree.

And in the 1707 entry, I'd add "a branch or tag created at that commit" to the list of what's refused.

Order once you approve:

1. Push the three branches when the checks pass.
2. Update the Trail description.
3. Resolve all 16 findings.

The permission classifier blocked resolving last time. If it blocks again, I'll give you the one command to run.

The pushes failed: SSH to GitHub is being refused. The output begins with sign_and_send_pubkey and ends with git's "make sure you have the correct access rights" message. That usually means the SSH agent (1Password) is locked or wants approval for the key. Nothing new reached GitHub; the remote branches are unchanged.

Everything is ready to go once SSH works:

• Checks: all three branches pass lint. 1712 passes every test package. Core and 1707 failed only on TestProbeConfigDir_AsksClaude, the probe flake.
• Commits waiting to push:
  • core at ec6c4e3ffe
  • 1707 at e634d837fc
  • 1712 at 81c7327815

To fix it, unlock 1Password and approve the SSH key prompt, then run ! ssh -T git@github.com. Once it greets you by username, tell me and I'll push all three.

Still waiting on your approval:

• the four new resolve notes;
• the Trail description change, which removes the branch bypass from "Not covered" and adds branch or tag to 1707's list of refused pushes.

Three things are left, and the first one blocks everything else:

1. Push the three branches. They're committed and checked, but the pushes failed because SSH to GitHub was refused. Unlock 1Password, approve the key prompt, run ! ssh -T git@github.com, then tell me and I'll push:
   • core at ec6c4e3ffe
   • 1707 at e634d837fc
   • 1712 at 81c7327815
2. Approve two texts. Both are in my previous message:
   • the resolve notes for the four new findings;
   • the Trail description change, which removes "a branch at a checkpoint's commit" from "Not covered" and adds branch or tag to what 1707 refuses.
3. After the push:
   • Resolve all 16 findings. Last time the permission classifier blocked this; if it does again, run ! python3 /private/tmp/claude-501/-Users-muskanpaliwal-Work-entireio-cli-ent-3141-explore-holding-checkpoints-back-before-push/bb0c2f72-c4d5-40bf-8aaa-5f5a5b744a2c/scratchpad/resolve.py. I'll add the four new notes to it first.
   • Check for any new runner findings on the pushed commits.

Open but not blocking:

• Product decision: should agents running in a pty (like Codex) see the first-push question?
• Findings log: it's still a draft in the scratchpad, because your vault path (~/Obsidian/Life OS) doesn't exist yet. Tell me where it should live.
• Review lesson: I offered one for General.md earlier: "enforce a policy where the action happens, not where the setting is read". It's still waiting on your yes or no.

Already done:

• Linear tickets ENT-3687 (held checkpoints outside refs/) and ENT-3688 (waiting-count performance).
• The Trail's open question and "Not covered" additions.
• The Brain fact about removing git-branch.

All three branches are pushed to GitHub:

• cli/1704 (muskan/checkpoint-holds-core) is at ec6c4e3ffe.
• cli/1707 (muskan/checkpoint-holds-followups) is at e634d837fc.
• cli/1712 (muskan/checkpoint-holds-first-push-question) is at 81c7327815.

Lint is clean on all three, and all 93 test packages pass on 1712. Core and 1707 each failed one test, TestProbeConfigDir_AsksClaude. It starts the real claude binary, this code doesn't touch it, and it has failed and then passed on its own all day, so I'm treating it as unrelated.

Still waiting on your approval:

• the resolve notes for the four new findings;
• the Trail description change, which removes "a branch at a checkpoint's commit" from "Not covered" and adds branch or tag to what 1707 refuses.

Once you approve, I'll update the Trail and resolve all 16 findings. If the permission check blocks that again, I'll give you the command to run.

All 16 findings are resolved. The runners have already posted three new ones on the latest push: two Medium, one Low. Each with my recommendation:

1. Medium, cli/1704, 01M641CQYVTC: OPF breaks pinned pushes.

• What happens: with OPF enabled, entire checkpoint push rewrites every waiting checkpoint before sending. That moves each one to a new commit, so a pinned <id>@<commit> is reported as changed and nothing uploads on the first try. Naming one checkpoint also rewrites all the others, and an OPF failure on an unrelated one blocks the one you named.
• Context: the Trail's "Not covered" list already accepts the whole-queue rewrite, because OPF is deprecated. The pin failure is new, and it means OPF plus manual effectively can't use <id>@<commit>.
• Recommendation: dismiss it with a note pointing at the "Not covered" entry and OPF's deprecation, and add the pin consequence to that entry. The proper fix would be to limit the OPF rewrite to the named checkpoints and recompute pins after the rewrite. That's real work in code that's being removed.

2. Medium, cli/1707, 01M641C4SNCG: annotated tags and commits built on top.

• What happens:
  • git tag -a x <tip>; git push origin x sends a tag object whose hash isn't the checkpoint's commit, so the check misses it.
  • A branch with new commits on top of a checkpoint's commit also carries the checkpoint's content out.
• Recommendation:
  • Annotated tags: fix them. Following each pushed tag object back to its commit before comparing is cheap and exact.
  • Commits built on top: don't chase them. Catching those means an ancestry check of every pushed line against every waiting checkpoint, which is expensive on large pushes. It's exactly the content-versus-names gap ENT-3687 is meant to close. Document it under "Not covered" and point to ENT-3687.

3. Low, cli/1712, 01M641DCMC7Y: a lost race where the stored policy is manual.

• What happens: if the user's answer loses the race to a stored manual policy, the push isn't re-checked. The first check ran while the policy was still unset, so a --mirror in that same push could go through.
• Recommendation: fix it. After the question, if a policy was stored in the meantime, run the held-checkpoint check again against it. It's small, and I'll add a test.

So: fix 2 (the tags part) and 3, dismiss 1 with a note, and add two lines to "Not covered":

• "With OPF on, a pinned entire checkpoint push <id>@<commit> reports changed on the first try, because the OPF rewrite moves the tip."
• "A branch whose new commits sit on top of a held checkpoint's commit (tracked in ENT-3687)."

Should I go ahead that way? I'll show you the dismissal note before posting it.

The three fixes are committed and the checks for 1707 and 1712 are running, roughly 25 minutes.

What changed:

• cli/1707 5f54a58c37: annotated tags are followed back to their commit before comparing, so git tag -a x <tip>; git push origin x is now refused. A new refusal test covers it.
• cli/1707 1d178f324a: the backend docs now say that with OPF on, a pinned push reports changed on the first try.
• cli/1712 a15bfcda3d and efa4b4a36e: when a stored policy wins the race with the question, the push is checked again against that policy. If manual won, a push that carries held checkpoint refs is refused. There's a new test, and the earlier race test where automatic wins still passes.

Please approve these texts. I'll post them after the push:

Dismissal note for 01M641CQYVTC (OPF and pinned pushes):

leaving this as is: OPF is deprecated, and the whole-queue rewrite under manual is already in the trail's not covered list. i added the pin consequence there and in the backend docs: with OPF on, a pinned <id>@<commit> reports changed on the first try because the rewrite moves the tip.

Resolve note for 01M641C4SNCG (annotated tags and commits built on top):

annotated tags are now peeled to their commit before the comparison, so git tag -a x <tip> is refused; added a refusal test for it. a branch whose new commits sit on top of a held checkpoint isn't caught, since that needs an ancestry check per pushed line. it's in the not covered list, and ENT-3687 (keeping held checkpoints outside refs/) would close it.

Resolve note for 01M641DCMC7Y (lost race to a stored manual):

a lost race now has its own answer, and pre-push re-runs the held-checkpoint check against the policy that won. added a test where manual is stored while the question waits and the push carries a checkpoint ref; it's refused.

Trail "Not covered" changes:

• Replace the OPF line with:

  With OPF on, entire checkpoint push <id> still rewrites the whole queue, so a large unnamed ref can trip the OPF cap, and a pinned <id>@<commit> reports changed on the first try because the rewrite moves the tip. This only affects OPF users who are on manual. It's deliberately left open because OPF is deprecated.

• Extend the first line to:

  A push that sends checkpoint content with --no-verify, or that sends an older version of a checkpoint, a new commit built from its tree, or a branch whose new commits sit on top of a held checkpoint (ENT-3687).