310aed9ff0
* docs: consolidate governance anchors and clean up test registries * refactor(cli): decompose cli into dedicated modules * test: fix broken test baselines and formatting * docs: add domain boundary READMEs for governance anchors * test: update baseline for determination lane * test: fix capability_pass expectation * test: fix CORE_SHOWCASE_SKIP_BUDGET enforcement * chore: cleanup CLI extraction and unreachable code
208 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
208 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
# Identity Packs — Reference
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**Status:** Operational reference doctrine. Update when pack format, loader contract, or CLI flag semantics change.
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**Last updated:** 2026-05-17
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**Companion docs:** [`adr/ADR-0027-identity-packs.md`](adr/ADR-0027-identity-packs.md), [`teaching_order.md`](teaching_order.md), [`specs/runtime_contracts.md`](specs/runtime_contracts.md)
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## What an identity pack is
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An identity pack is the on-disk, content-addressed representation of an `IdentityManifold`. At runtime startup, CORE loads exactly one identity pack and uses it to construct the manifold that drives `PersonaMotor.from_identity_manifold()` and `IdentityCheck`. Replacing the pack replaces the model's identity surface without touching code.
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Identity packs sit alongside language packs in the trust hierarchy:
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- **Language packs** (`packs/en/`, `packs/grc/`, `packs/he/`, …) — what CORE *speaks*.
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- **Identity packs** (`packs/identity/<pack_id>.json`) — *who* CORE is while speaking.
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- **Safety packs** (future, `packs/identity_safety/`) — what CORE will *never* be, regardless of identity pack.
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## Pack format (v1)
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A single JSON file. Strings, ints, bools, lists, dicts only — same canonical-JSON discipline as the formation pipeline (no floats embedded in identifying fields; numeric direction vectors are floats but their canonical position in the file is fixed).
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```json
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{
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"pack_id": "default_general_v1",
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"version": "1.0.0",
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"description": "Balanced general identity. Default shipping pack.",
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"schema_version": "1.0.0",
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"mastery_report_sha256": "",
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"alignment_threshold": 0.45,
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"boundary_ids": [
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"no_fabricated_source",
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"no_hot_path_repair"
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],
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"value_axes": [
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{
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"axis_id": "truthfulness",
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"name": "truthfulness",
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"direction": [1.0, 0.0, 0.0],
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"weight": 1.0,
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"theological_note": "Truth is treated as a fixed value axis, not a prompt preference."
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},
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{
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"axis_id": "coherence",
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"name": "coherence",
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"direction": [0.0, 1.0, 0.0],
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"weight": 1.0,
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"theological_note": "Operations must preserve field coherence under propagation."
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},
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{
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"axis_id": "reverence",
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"name": "reverence",
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"direction": [0.0, 0.0, 1.0],
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"weight": 1.0,
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"theological_note": "Depth-language handling remains bounded by source structure."
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}
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]
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}
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```
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### Field semantics
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| Field | Required | Meaning |
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|---|---|---|
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| `pack_id` | yes | Unique identifier. Convention: `<slug>_v<major>`. |
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| `version` | yes | Semver. Bumping `major` produces a new `pack_id`. |
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| `description` | yes | Human-facing one-liner. Surfaces in `core pulse --list-identity-packs`. |
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| `schema_version` | yes | Format version. Currently `"1.0.0"`. |
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| `surface_preferences` | no | Pack-supplied surface hedge / claim-strength shaping (ADR-0028). Defaults preserve pre-ADR behavior. See §"Surface preferences" below. |
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| `mastery_report_sha256` | no | SHA of the companion `<pack_id>.mastery_report.json`. Empty for unratified development packs; production deployments refuse to load packs with empty values. |
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| `alignment_threshold` | yes | Float in [0, 1]. Passed to `IdentityManifold.alignment_threshold`. |
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| `boundary_ids` | yes | List of boundary identifiers. Mirrors `IdentityManifold.boundary_ids`. |
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| `value_axes` | yes | List of ≥ 1 axes. Each has: `axis_id`, `name`, `direction` (list of 3 floats in [-1, 1]), `weight` (float ≥ 0), `theological_note`. |
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### Axis-specific hedge phrases (ADR-0031)
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Optional sub-block inside `surface_preferences` that lets the assembler call out *which* axis is deviating when it hedges. When `IdentityScore.deviation_axes` names an axis and the pack supplies an `axis_hedges` entry for that axis, the lex-smallest match is used instead of the generic `preferred_hedge_*`:
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```json
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"axis_hedges": {
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"truthfulness": {
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"strong": "Evidence is thin that",
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"soft": "It is hard to confirm that",
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"qualifier": "Where evidence is partial,"
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},
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"coherence": { "strong": "...", "soft": "...", "qualifier": "..." },
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"reverence": { "strong": "...", "soft": "...", "qualifier": "..." }
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}
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```
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Each axis entry must supply `strong`, `soft`, and `qualifier` phrases (length 1–64). When no deviating axis matches an `axis_hedges` entry, the generic phrases from §"Surface preferences" fire. Depth languages (Hebrew, Koine Greek) ignore `axis_hedges` at v1 and continue to use the canonical phrases from [ADR-0030](adr/ADR-0030-depth-language-hedge.md).
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### Surface preferences (ADR-0028)
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Optional block driving the assembler's hedge and claim-strength decisions:
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```json
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"surface_preferences": {
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"hedge_threshold_strong": 0.40,
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"hedge_threshold_soft": 0.50,
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"preferred_hedge_strong": "It seems that",
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"preferred_hedge_soft": "Perhaps",
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"claim_strength": "balanced",
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"qualified_band_high": 0.75,
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"preferred_qualifier": "In some cases,"
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}
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```
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Bands (in descending hedge strength):
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1. `alignment < hedge_threshold_strong` → prepend `preferred_hedge_strong`.
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2. `alignment < hedge_threshold_soft` → prepend `preferred_hedge_soft`.
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3. `hedge_threshold_soft <= alignment < qualified_band_high` and `claim_strength == "qualified"` → prepend `preferred_qualifier`.
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4. Otherwise leave the assertion bare.
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Threshold ordering required: `hedge_threshold_strong <= hedge_threshold_soft <= qualified_band_high`. Loader enforces this.
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`claim_strength` must be one of `{"balanced", "qualified", "affirmative"}`. `"balanced"` and `"affirmative"` skip the marginal-band qualifier; only `"qualified"` triggers it.
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### Loader bounds (enforced)
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- `len(value_axes) >= 1` — empty axes are refused.
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- Each `direction` must have length 3 and each component in `[-1.0, 1.0]`.
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- `weight` must be in `[0.0, 10.0]` — prevents a single axis from dominating arbitrarily.
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- `alignment_threshold` must be in `[0.0, 1.0]`.
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- `axis_id` values must be unique within a pack.
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- Production mode requires `mastery_report_sha256 != ""` and the companion report's self-seal to verify; development mode (`CORE_ALLOW_UNRATIFIED_IDENTITY=1`) bypasses both.
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## Loader contract
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```python
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from packs.identity.loader import load_identity_manifold
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manifold = load_identity_manifold(
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pack_id="default_general_v1", # required
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search_paths=None, # default: ["./packs/identity"]
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require_ratified=True, # production default
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)
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```
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Returns an `IdentityManifold` (from `core/physics/identity.py`). Raises `IdentityPackError` on missing pack, malformed JSON, bound violations, or unverified self-seal in production mode.
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The loader is path-aware: deployments may supply `search_paths=("/srv/myapp/packs/identity", "./packs/identity")` so a robotics or app builder can ship overlay packs without touching CORE's own packs directory.
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## CLI usage
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```bash
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core chat
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# Loads the default identity pack (currently default_general_v1).
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core chat --identity precision_first_v1
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# Loads a specific pack. Pack must exist on the loader's search paths.
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core chat --list-identity-packs
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# Lists discoverable packs with description + ratification status.
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# Short-circuits before the REPL launches.
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core chat --list-identity-packs --json
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# Same listing as machine-readable JSON (pack_id, version, description,
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# ratified, path).
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core chat --identity generosity_first_v1
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# A different specialization on the chat surface.
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CORE_DEFAULT_IDENTITY_PACK=precision_first_v1 core pulse "..."
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# Environment override of the default. Takes precedence over the
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# core/config.py constant; --identity on the command line takes
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# precedence over the env var.
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```
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## Shipping packs (v1)
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| Pack id | Role | Notes |
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| `default_general_v1` | Ship default. Balanced. | Encodes the *exact* three axes (`truthfulness`, `coherence`, `reverence`) previously hardcoded in `chat/runtime.py`. Behavioral no-op vs. pre-ADR runtime. ADR-0028 surface_preferences: balanced; hedge thresholds 0.40/0.50/0.75. ADR-0031 axis_hedges: "Evidence is thin that" / "This does not yet cohere:" / "Reports suggest". Ratified: `2ab7d469013509ba5030313ca9a609a443d0716e3ddcc5596f59858ce054f5d3`. |
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| `precision_first_v1` | Specialization example A. | Boosts `truthfulness` weight, narrows reverence direction. Surface: hedges sooner (0.55/0.70/0.85), uses "Arguably,"/"In some cases,"/"Under certain conditions,"; claim_strength=qualified. ADR-0031 axis_hedges: "The evidence does not support that" / "This contradicts what is established:" / "Source attestation is weak:". Source: `evals/identity_divergence/axes/axis_a.yaml`. Ratified: `78aa1e6a68a35c2c8576b6196a52d421b94f6d11e006128986902a4fd08679af`. |
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| `generosity_first_v1` | Specialization example B. | Boosts `coherence` weight, broadens reverence direction. Surface: hedges later (0.20/0.30/0.50); claim_strength=affirmative. ADR-0031 axis_hedges: "Some hold that" / "There is a thread connecting this:" / "It is reported that". Source: `evals/identity_divergence/axes/axis_b.yaml`. Ratified: `511f1ce20edd4266239da61443bfc93473a5433f20bfee6692a25a03073dc933`. |
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Each ratified pack ships alongside a `<pack_id>.mastery_report.json` companion file. The loader, in production mode, verifies the companion's self-seal and cross-checks its `report_sha256` against the pack's `mastery_report_sha256`. To re-ratify after editing a pack's axes, run `python scripts/ratify_identity_packs.py` (idempotent — re-running on already-current packs is a no-op).
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## Authoring a new identity pack (robotics / personalization / creative tools)
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1. **Author the SubjectSpec.** Use `core formation new <subject_id>` to scaffold; edit to declare the pack's intent and identity axis constraints.
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2. **Hand-author the candidate axes.** Use the `identity_anchor` template's expected input shape: `concepts` are axes (with `definition` = behavioral commitment), `counters` are override-attempt probes the pack must refuse.
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3. **Ratify through formation.** Render → compose → compile → run → ratify. Produces a signed `MasteryReport`.
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4. **Promote.** Promotion goes through `teaching/review.py`'s reviewed-apply path. The promote step writes both `<pack_id>.json` and `<pack_id>.mastery_report.json` to `packs/identity/`.
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5. **Deploy.** The pack is now selectable by `--identity <pack_id>`. Distribute alongside your deployment's other artifacts.
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### Anti-patterns
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- **Don't author identity packs by hand-editing `packs/identity/`.** The runtime never writes there; neither should authors. All packs flow through formation so audit trails are intact.
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- **Don't ship unratified packs (empty `mastery_report_sha256`) in production.** The loader's `require_ratified` flag exists to refuse them.
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- **Don't try to override `boundary_ids` to weaken refusal.** Boundaries are the immutable contract; if your identity pack omits expected boundaries, the runtime refuses to load it.
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- **Don't try to express safety constraints in an identity pack.** Safety axes belong in the (future) safety pack, always-loaded and never-replaceable.
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## Known limits (read before designing around)
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1. ~~**Identity does not yet visibly differentiate articulation at the realizer.**~~ **Closed by [ADR-0028](adr/ADR-0028-identity-surface-wiring.md) + [ADR-0030](adr/ADR-0030-depth-language-hedge.md) (2026-05-17).** Pack `surface_preferences` now flow into the English, Hebrew, and Koine Greek assemblers. `core chat --identity precision_first_v1 "Q"` produces a visibly different surface than the default pack on the same prompt at the same alignment, *across all three foundational languages*. Per-pack depth-language phrase overrides remain a future concern (today's depth-language hedge phrases are canonical defaults in `generate/surface.py::_DEPTH_HEDGE_PHRASES`).
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2. **One pack at a time.** Multi-pack overlays (`--identity general,domain_medical`) are deferred to a follow-up ADR.
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3. **No language-specific identity yet.** Packs are language-neutral. Per-language identity is a future concern.
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4. **Safety axes are still in `chat/runtime.py`.** Once the safety pack ADR lands, safety boundaries will move out of `boundary_ids` and into a separately-loaded safety pack.
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## Cross-reference index
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- Pack format spec: this doc §"Pack format (v1)".
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- Loader contract: this doc §"Loader contract".
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- Decision record: [ADR-0027](adr/ADR-0027-identity-packs.md).
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- Teaching-order placement: [`teaching_order.md`](teaching_order.md) §"The Five-Layer Ordering Rule" Layer 1.
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- Identity-divergence eval: `evals/identity_divergence/contract.md`.
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- The geometric identity primitives: `core/physics/identity.py` (ADR-0010 implicit).
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- The formation template that ratifies packs: `formation/templates/identity_anchor.py`.
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