Three independent hygiene fixes named in the 2026-05-19 design review.
All small, all observable, none architectural.
1. ``RuntimeConfig`` flag drop on pack_id / frame_pack override
chat/runtime.py:306-320 used to enumerate fields by hand when
reconstructing RuntimeConfig under the pack_id / frame_pack
override path. The list stopped at ``admissibility_margin`` and
silently dropped FIVE newer flags: identity_pack, ethics_pack,
forward_graph_constraint, composed_surface, thread_anaphora.
Caller side-effect:
ChatRuntime(pack_id="x", config=RuntimeConfig(composed_surface=True))
.config.composed_surface == False # silently lost
Fix: ``dataclasses.replace(config, input_packs=..., frame_pack=...)``.
Every field on the dataclass survives by construction; future
additions never need a synchronized edit on this path.
2. Stale CAUSE / VERIFICATION docstring
tests/test_intent_classification_extensions.py described a sixth
runtime-side fix (pack_grounded_surface fallback for
CAUSE/VERIFICATION) that was considered, reverted, and the file's
own test classes pin the opposite contract. Docstring now states
the doctrine correctly: no fallback, deliberately, so the discovery
layer can log the teaching-gap signal.
3. Thin convenience wrappers: respond / achat / arespond
tests/test_achat.py and tests/test_language_pack_runtime.py
referenced these public methods since 2026-05-14, but they were
never implemented on ChatRuntime — those 12 tests had been red on
every full-lane run since the rebase. Added as thin wrappers:
respond(text) -> ChatResponse.surface
achat(text) -> async wrapper around chat()
arespond(text)-> async wrapper around respond()
The async wrappers are deliberately NOT genuinely non-blocking —
the underlying CPU-bound walk/recall/composition remains sync.
Docstrings say so explicitly. Callers needing real concurrency
should wrap in asyncio.to_thread at the call site; promoting the
wrappers to true async event-loop integration is a future change
gated by an actual concurrent caller.
Regression coverage:
tests/test_runtime_config_passthrough.py — 4 tests
- all 19 RuntimeConfig fields survive a pack_id override
- all five newer flags survive a frame_pack override
- no-override path preserves caller config by identity (no rebuild)
- the four public methods exist and are callable
Verification:
44/44 affected tests green (was 12 red pre-fix).
Cognition eval byte-identical on both splits.
No surface-format change; this commit is pure plumbing.
The 2026-05-19 cumulative live probe surfaced a stark gap: ~52% of
realistic conversational definition prompts ("Define X", "What does
X mean?", "What is to V?", "How does X work?", "What causes X?")
returned ``grounding_source="none"`` *even though every subject
lemma was pack-resident* across the 9 mounted English packs.
Root cause: the bottleneck was intent classification + subject
extraction, not lexicon coverage. Five patterns either had no rule
or routed to an intent the runtime dispatcher couldn't handle. The
fluency assessment at
``/Users/kaizenpro/.codex/worktrees/6533/core/notes/fluency_assessment_2026-05-19.md``
named these as Root Cause #1 ("public chat path does not use the
cognitive spine") and Root Cause #3 ("proposition graphs are too
thin"). This commit closes the surface-level half of that gap;
the deeper answer-plan layer (gloss propositions, P3 in the
assessment) is the next step.
Patterns fixed in ``generate/intent.py``:
1. ``Define X`` — added ``^define\s+`` rule mapping to
DEFINITION (placed after ``^what is/are``
so multi-word DEFINITION patterns still
prefer the question form).
2. ``What does X mean?`` — was matching TRANSITIVE_QUERY with
relation=``mean``. Now re-routes to
DEFINITION inside ``classify_intent`` so
``pack_grounded_surface`` fires on X.
Other transitive relations (precede,
ground, etc.) remain TRANSITIVE_QUERY.
3. ``What is to V?`` — added infinitive-marker strip to
``_normalize_subject`` for DEFINITION /
RECALL. ``to`` is gated on intent tag so
it never strips a transfer preposition
from CAUSE / VERIFICATION.
4. ``How does X work?`` — added ``_HOW_DOES_X_RE`` (third-person
mechanistic-cause). Distinct from the
first-person PROCEDURE rule ("How do I
X?"). Verbs: work / function / operate /
happen / exist / behave / act / emerge.
5. ``What causes X?`` — added causative-verb rule (causes /
triggers / enables / prevents / drives /
produces / induces / yields) routing to
CAUSE with X as subject.
Deliberate NON-fix: I considered adding a ``pack_grounded_surface``
fallback in the CAUSE / VERIFICATION dispatcher when no teaching
chain matches the subject. Reverted on review — that masks the
"would_have_grounded" discovery-candidate signal the teaching
pipeline uses to identify teaching-content gaps (see
``tests/test_discovery_candidates``). CAUSE on a pack-resident
lemma without a teaching chain stays ``grounding_source=='none'``
so the discovery layer can log the gap honestly.
``chat/pack_grounding.py``:
Extended ``_CORRECTION_TOPIC_STOPWORDS`` to include polarity
markers (no / yes / maybe / perhaps / hardly / indeed / surely /
definitely). Without this the CORRECTION composer would
short-circuit on ``no`` from "No, my parent disagrees" and miss
the topical lemma ``parent``.
Cumulative probe lift (44 realistic conversational prompts):
BEFORE: pack=16 none=23 oov=4 teaching=1 (52% NONE)
AFTER: pack=37 none=2 oov=4 teaching=1 ( 5% NONE)
The remaining 2 NONE responses are CAUSE-shaped prompts with no
teaching chain — deliberately preserved as the discovery-gap
signal described above.
Tests: tests/test_intent_classification_extensions.py — 23 new
tests covering each pattern + the lift invariant.
Verification:
Cognition eval byte-identical on both splits (100/100/91.7/100
public, 100/100/83.3/100 holdout).
All 111 intent-affected tests green:
test_intent_classification_extensions.py (23)
test_intent_proposition_graph.py / test_intent_ratifier.py /
test_intent_subject_extraction.py / test_narrative_example_intents.py
test_procedure_surface.py
test_correction_topic_lemma.py
test_cross_pack_grounding.py (including the polarity-stopword fix)
test_discovery_candidates.py
test_contemplation_wiring.py
test_en_core_polarity_v1_pack.py
Shay