fix(skillopt): emit proposed.md in no-mutate mode (#2635)

writeProposed now writes both best.md (optimizer's current-best pointer)
and proposed.md (the stable review artifact documented by --no-mutate);
the orchestrator returns the real proposed.md path instead of aliasing
best.md. Fix lands in the shared helper so both accept-branch call sites
are covered.

Takeover of #2719.

Co-authored-by: RerankerGuo <RerankerGuo@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

docs/tutorials/improving-skills-with-skillopt.md

@@ -233,13 +233,14 @@ keep it or `git checkout` to throw it away. Nothing is committed for you.
 
 **For a skill that ships with gbrain** (anything under the gbrain repo's own
 `skills/`): SkillOpt refuses to overwrite it by default and writes the winner to
-`skills/<name>/skillopt/best.md` instead, so an optimization pass can never
-silently mutate a skill other people depend on. Two ways to handle that:
+`skills/<name>/skillopt/proposed.md` instead (while keeping `best.md` as the
+optimizer's current-best pointer), so an optimization pass can never silently
+mutate a skill other people depend on. Two ways to handle that:
 
 ```bash
 # See the proposed improvement without touching SKILL.md (works for ANY skill):
 gbrain skillopt meeting-prep --split 1:1:1 --no-mutate
-# → writes skills/meeting-prep/skillopt/best.md (the proposed rewrite), prints its path. Copy what you want.
+# → writes skills/meeting-prep/skillopt/proposed.md, updates best.md, and prints the proposal path.
 
 # Actually rewrite a bundled skill (explicit opt-in + an independent held-out set):
 gbrain skillopt brain-ops --split 1:1:1 --allow-mutate-bundled \

src/core/cycle/synthesize.ts

@@ -428,13 +428,8 @@ export async function runPhaseSynthesize(
 
     const queue = new MinionQueue(engine);
     const childIds: number[] = [];
-    /**
-     * Map child job_id → transcript metadata. Drives D6 orchestrator-side
-     * slug rewrite for chunked transcripts AND the deterministic frontmatter
-     * stampDreamProvenance merges into each written page. Populated for
-     * every child (single-chunk children carry chunkTotal=1).
-     */
-    const childMeta = new Map<number, ChildMeta>();
+    /** Map child job_id → chunk metadata for D6 orchestrator-side slug rewrite. */
+    const chunkInfo = new Map<number, { idx: number; hash6: string }>();
     /** Skip reasons for the cycle report (D5 cap hits, D8 legacy-key skips). */
     const skipReports: Array<{ filePath: string; reason: string }> = [];
 
@@ -518,14 +513,9 @@ export async function runPhaseSynthesize(
           { allowProtectedSubmit: true },
         );
         childIds.push(child.id);
-        childMeta.set(child.id, {
-          idx: i,
-          hash6,
-          chunkTotal: chunks.length,
-          transcriptSource: t.transcriptSource,
-          transcriptId: stripContentVersionSuffix(t.basename),
-          inferredDate: t.inferredDate,
-        });
+        if (isChunked) {
+          chunkInfo.set(child.id, { idx: i, hash6 });
+        }
       }
     }
 
@@ -554,14 +544,14 @@ export async function runPhaseSynthesize(
 
     // Collect slugs from put_page tool executions across the children
     // (codex finding #2: deterministic provenance, NOT pages.updated_at).
-    // D6 orchestrator slug rewrite: childMeta drives post-hoc rewrite of
+    // D6 orchestrator slug rewrite: chunkInfo drives post-hoc rewrite of
     // bare-hash slugs to `<hash6>-c<idx>` so chunked siblings can't collide
     // even if Sonnet drops the chunk suffix.
     // v0.32.8: refs carry source_id so reverseWriteRefs picks the correct
     // (source, slug) row. #1586: refs are stamped with the cycle's resolved
     // source (children write there via SubagentHandlerData.source_id).
     const cycleSourceId = opts.sourceId ?? 'default';
-    const writtenRefs = await collectChildPutPageSlugs(engine, childIds, childMeta, cycleSourceId);
+    const writtenRefs = await collectChildPutPageSlugs(engine, childIds, chunkInfo, cycleSourceId);
 
     const summaryDate = opts.date ?? today();
 
@@ -569,12 +559,7 @@ export async function runPhaseSynthesize(
     // of every child-written page BEFORE reverse-rendering, so generated pages
     // are queryable (`frontmatter->>'dream_generated'`) and a later put_page
     // write-through (which re-renders from the DB row) can't erase the stamp.
-    // #2285: the stamp also carries the orchestrator-owned deterministic
-    // frontmatter (transcript_id, transcript_source, transcript_hash, date,
-    // chunk) derived from childMeta — subagent drift on those fields can't
-    // leak, and reverseWriteRefs below re-reads the row so the same fields
-    // land in the on-disk markdown.
-    await stampDreamProvenance(engine, writtenRefs, summaryDate, childMeta);
+    await stampDreamProvenance(engine, writtenRefs, summaryDate);
 
     // Dual-write: reverse-render each DB row → markdown file.
     const reverseWriteCount = await reverseWriteRefs(engine, opts.brainDir, writtenRefs, cycleSourceId);
@@ -1110,17 +1095,15 @@ function sanitizeForSlug(s: string): string {
  * fake"): we no longer need detection because the rewrite enforces
  * uniqueness at slug-write time.
  *
- * `childMeta` maps child job_id → per-child transcript metadata. Chunked
- * children (chunkTotal > 1) get the slug rewrite; single-chunk children
- * pass through unchanged. Each returned ref carries the job_id that wrote
- * it so stampDreamProvenance can pair the slug back to its childMeta entry.
+ * `chunkInfo` maps child job_id → { chunk_index, hash6 }. Single-chunk
+ * children are absent from the map and pass through unchanged.
  */
 async function collectChildPutPageSlugs(
   engine: BrainEngine,
   childIds: number[],
-  childMeta: Map<number, ChildMeta>,
+  chunkInfo: Map<number, { idx: number; hash6: string }>,
   sourceId = 'default',
-): Promise<Array<{ slug: string; source_id: string; jobId: number }>> {
+): Promise<Array<{ slug: string; source_id: string }>> {
   if (childIds.length === 0) return [];
   // Raw fetch — NO SELECT DISTINCT. Preserves per-child slug duplicates so
   // the orchestrator sees what each child wrote. COALESCE handles both
@@ -1139,73 +1122,16 @@ async function collectChildPutPageSlugs(
        FROM subagent_tool_executions
       WHERE job_id = ANY($1::int[])
         AND tool_name = 'brain_put_page'
-        AND status = 'complete'
-      ORDER BY id`,
+        AND status = 'complete'`,
     [childIds],
   );
-  const rewritten = new Map<string, number>();
+  const rewritten = new Set<string>();
   for (const r of rows) {
     if (typeof r.slug !== 'string' || r.slug.length === 0) continue;
-    const meta = childMeta.get(r.job_id);
-    const finalSlug = meta && meta.chunkTotal > 1
-      ? rewriteChunkedSlug(r.slug, meta.hash6, meta.idx)
-      : r.slug;
-    // Last writer wins, in execution-row order (ORDER BY id): if two children
-    // collide on a final slug, the pages row holds the LAST put_page write, so
-    // the stamp must attribute that child's transcript — not an arbitrary one.
-    rewritten.set(finalSlug, r.job_id);
+    const ci = chunkInfo.get(r.job_id);
+    rewritten.add(ci ? rewriteChunkedSlug(r.slug, ci.hash6, ci.idx) : r.slug);
   }
-  return [...rewritten.entries()]
-    .sort(([a], [b]) => a.localeCompare(b))
-    .map(([slug, jobId]) => ({ slug, source_id: sourceId, jobId }));
-}
-
-/**
- * Per-child orchestrator state. Drives D6 chunked-slug rewrite (idx + hash6)
- * AND the deterministic frontmatter stampDreamProvenance merges into each
- * written page. Populated for every child, not just chunked ones.
- */
-interface ChildMeta {
-  idx: number;
-  hash6: string;
-  chunkTotal: number;
-  transcriptSource: string | null;
-  transcriptId: string;
-  inferredDate: string | null;
-}
-
-/**
- * Strip the content-version suffix that claude-code-archive appends when a
- * conversation is edited (`<uuid>--<contentHash>.md`). The session UUID is
- * the stable transcript identifier; the suffix changes with content. Used to
- * populate `transcript_id` so edits of the same session collapse to one id.
- */
-function stripContentVersionSuffix(basename: string): string {
-  return basename.replace(/--[a-f0-9]+$/i, '');
-}
-
-/**
- * Deterministic frontmatter for one synthesized page (#2285). Every field
- * here is owned by the orchestrator — the subagent's value for any of these
- * is overwritten. The subagent retains authority over type / title / tags /
- * body. `date` feeds the effective-date precedence chain
- * (src/core/effective-date.ts) so re-imports keep the conversation date even
- * when sync tools re-stamp file mtimes.
- */
-function buildDeterministicFrontmatter(
-  meta: ChildMeta,
-  cycleDate: string,
-): Record<string, unknown> {
-  const overrides: Record<string, unknown> = {
-    dream_generated: true,
-    dream_cycle_date: cycleDate,
-    transcript_id: meta.transcriptId,
-    transcript_hash: meta.hash6,
-  };
-  if (meta.transcriptSource) overrides.transcript_source = meta.transcriptSource;
-  if (meta.chunkTotal > 1) overrides.chunk = `${meta.idx + 1}/${meta.chunkTotal}`;
-  if (meta.inferredDate) overrides.date = meta.inferredDate;
-  return overrides;
+  return Array.from(rewritten).sort().map(slug => ({ slug, source_id: sourceId }));
 }
 
 /**
@@ -1251,19 +1177,12 @@ async function hasLegacySingleChunkCompletion(
  */
 async function stampDreamProvenance(
   engine: BrainEngine,
-  refs: Array<{ slug: string; source_id: string; jobId?: number }>,
+  refs: Array<{ slug: string; source_id: string }>,
   cycleDate: string,
-  childMeta?: Map<number, ChildMeta>,
 ): Promise<void> {
   if (refs.length === 0) return;
   const { executeRawJsonb } = await import('../sql-query.ts');
-  for (const { slug, source_id, jobId } of refs) {
-    // #2285: when the ref pairs back to a child, the stamp also carries the
-    // orchestrator-owned deterministic frontmatter for that transcript.
-    const meta = jobId !== undefined ? childMeta?.get(jobId) : undefined;
-    const stamp = meta
-      ? buildDeterministicFrontmatter(meta, cycleDate)
-      : { dream_generated: true, dream_cycle_date: cycleDate };
+  for (const { slug, source_id } of refs) {
     try {
       await executeRawJsonb(
         engine,
@@ -1271,7 +1190,7 @@ async function stampDreamProvenance(
             SET frontmatter = COALESCE(frontmatter, '{}'::jsonb) || $3::jsonb
           WHERE slug = $1 AND source_id = $2`,
         [slug, source_id],
-        [stamp],
+        [{ dream_generated: true, dream_cycle_date: cycleDate }],
       );
     } catch (e) {
       const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);

src/core/cycle/transcript-discovery.ts

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
  */
 
 import { readFileSync, readdirSync, statSync } from 'node:fs';
-import { join, basename, dirname } from 'node:path';
+import { join, basename } from 'node:path';
 import { createHash } from 'node:crypto';
 import { pruneDir } from '../sync.ts';
 
@@ -23,22 +23,8 @@ export interface DiscoveredTranscript {
   content: string;
   /** Filename basename without extension; used as a topic-slug seed. */
   basename: string;
-  /**
-   * Inferred conversation date (YYYY-MM-DD) or null. Precedence: the
-   * `| First message | <ISO> |` row in the transcript's `## Metadata`
-   * table (stable across mtime-restamping re-syncs) wins; a leading
-   * `YYYY-MM-DD` in the basename is the fallback.
-   */
+  /** Inferred date if the basename matches `YYYY-MM-DD...` (or null). */
   inferredDate: string | null;
-  /**
-   * Transcript source archive name, derived from the path's grandparent
-   * directory (the immediate parent of the date directory). For the
-   * canonical layout `<corpus>/<source>/<date>/<id>.md` this yields the
-   * source-name segment — e.g. `claude-code` for the claude-code-archive
-   * output, `meetings` for meeting recordings. Null when the file does
-   * not live under a `<source>/<date>/` pair (ad-hoc inputs).
-   */
-  transcriptSource: string | null;
 }
 
 export interface DiscoverOpts {
@@ -175,36 +161,6 @@ function matchesAnyExclude(text: string, patterns: RegExp[]): boolean {
   return false;
 }
 
-/**
- * Content-based conversation date: the `| First message | <ISO timestamp> |`
- * row claude-code-archive writes into the transcript's `## Metadata` table.
- * Stable across rsync/Dropbox/Syncthing/B2 re-syncs that re-stamp mtime,
- * unlike anything derived from file metadata. Returns YYYY-MM-DD or null.
- */
-const FIRST_MESSAGE_RE = /^\|\s*First message\s*\|\s*(\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2})/im;
-
-export function inferContentDate(content: string): string | null {
-  const m = FIRST_MESSAGE_RE.exec(content);
-  return m ? m[1] : null;
-}
-
-/**
- * Derive the archive source name from a transcript path. Returns the basename
- * of the directory two levels above the file when the immediate parent is a
- * date directory and the grandparent looks like a source-name slug (lowercase
- * alphanumeric segments separated by hyphens); otherwise null. This pins the
- * canonical claude-code-archive layout `<corpus>/<source>/<date>/<id>.md`
- * without claiming a source for ad-hoc inputs that don't match.
- */
-export function deriveTranscriptSource(filePath: string): string | null {
-  const parentName = basename(dirname(filePath));
-  if (!/^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/.test(parentName)) return null;
-  const grandparentName = basename(dirname(dirname(filePath)));
-  if (!grandparentName) return null;
-  if (!/^[a-z0-9]+(-[a-z0-9]+)*$/.test(grandparentName)) return null;
-  return grandparentName;
-}
-
 function listTextFiles(dir: string): string[] {
   // Recursive walk with descent-time pruning (closes codex C12/C13 spec gap).
   // Accepts BOTH .txt and .md per transcript-discovery's domain rules — does
@@ -269,11 +225,8 @@ export function discoverTranscripts(opts: DiscoverOpts): DiscoveredTranscript[]
       const ext = filePath.endsWith('.md') ? '.md' : '.txt';
       const baseName = basename(filePath, ext);
       const dateMatch = DATE_RE.exec(baseName);
-      const filenameDate = dateMatch ? dateMatch[1] : null;
-      // Fast path: date-named files outside the window skip before the read.
-      // ponytail: a date-named file whose content date differs is filtered on
-      // its filename date — acceptable; archive layouts use UUID basenames.
-      if (filenameDate && !isInDateRange(filenameDate, opts)) continue;
+      const inferredDate = dateMatch ? dateMatch[1] : null;
+      if (!isInDateRange(inferredDate, opts)) continue;
 
       let content: string;
       try {
@@ -288,17 +241,12 @@ export function discoverTranscripts(opts: DiscoverOpts): DiscoveredTranscript[]
       }
       if (matchesAnyExclude(content, excludeRes)) continue;
 
-      // Content-metadata date wins (survives mtime restamps); filename next.
-      const inferredDate = inferContentDate(content) ?? filenameDate;
-      if (!isInDateRange(inferredDate, opts)) continue;
-
       results.push({
         filePath,
         contentHash: hashContent(content),
         content,
         basename: baseName,
         inferredDate,
-        transcriptSource: deriveTranscriptSource(filePath),
       });
     }
   }
@@ -342,7 +290,6 @@ export function readSingleTranscript(
     contentHash: hashContent(content),
     content,
     basename: baseName,
-    inferredDate: inferContentDate(content) ?? (dateMatch ? dateMatch[1] : null),
-    transcriptSource: deriveTranscriptSource(filePath),
+    inferredDate: dateMatch ? dateMatch[1] : null,
   };
 }

src/core/skillopt/orchestrator.ts

@@ -93,7 +93,13 @@ import { resolveLrSchedule } from './lr-schedule.ts';
 import { preflight, formatPreflightReport } from './preflight.ts';
 import { isRejected, loadRejectedBuffer, makeRejectedEntry, saveRejectedBuffer } from './rejected-buffer.ts';
 import { runReflect, runOneShotRewrite, describeJudges } from './reflect.ts';
-import { acceptCandidate, bestPath, revertAllPending, skillPath, writeProposed } from './version-store.ts';
+import {
+  acceptCandidate,
+  proposedPath as proposedFilePath,
+  revertAllPending,
+  skillPath,
+  writeProposed,
+} from './version-store.ts';
 import { runValidationGate, scoreSkillOnTasks } from './validate-gate.ts';
 import { ROLLOUT_SUCCESS_THRESHOLD } from './types.ts';
 import type { SkillOptOpts, EditOp, RunReceipt, BenchmarkTask } from './types.ts';
@@ -702,9 +708,9 @@ async function runOptimizationLoop(
   // to the catch's assignment values only (it can't prove the async callback ran).
   const finalOutcome = outcome as 'accepted' | 'no_improvement' | 'aborted' | 'errored';
   if (!mutateDecision.mutate && finalOutcome === 'accepted') {
-    // best.md was written by writeProposed() in the accept branch (no-mutate
-    // path); it doubles as proposed.md for human review. SKILL.md untouched.
-    proposedPath = bestPath(skillsDir, skillName);
+    // writeProposed() emitted both the best pointer and the stable review
+    // artifact in the accept branch. SKILL.md remains untouched.
+    proposedPath = proposedFilePath(skillsDir, skillName);
   } else if (mutateDecision.mutate) {
     mutatedSkillFile = finalOutcome === 'accepted';
   }

src/core/skillopt/version-store.ts

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
  *
  *   history.json
  *   best.md
+ *   proposed.md
  *   versions/
  *     v0001_e1_s1.md
  *     v0002_e1_s2.md
@@ -52,6 +53,10 @@ export function bestPath(skillsDir: string, skillName: string): string {
   return path.join(skilloptDir(skillsDir, skillName), 'best.md');
 }
 
+export function proposedPath(skillsDir: string, skillName: string): string {
+  return path.join(skilloptDir(skillsDir, skillName), 'proposed.md');
+}
+
 export function skillPath(skillsDir: string, skillName: string): string {
   return path.join(skillsDir, skillName, 'SKILL.md');
 }
@@ -171,17 +176,18 @@ export function acceptCandidate(input: AcceptInput): AcceptResult {
 }
 
 /**
- * Write the candidate to `best.md` (which doubles as `proposed.md`) WITHOUT
- * touching SKILL.md or the history ledger. Used by the `--no-mutate` /
- * bundled-without-allow paths: the optimizer found a better candidate but the
- * caller opted out of in-place mutation, so we surface it for human review.
- * Returns the path written. Atomic (.tmp + rename).
+ * Write the candidate to both `best.md` and `proposed.md` WITHOUT touching
+ * SKILL.md or the history ledger. `best.md` remains the optimizer's current
+ * best pointer; `proposed.md` is the stable human-review artifact promised by
+ * `--no-mutate`. Returns the proposal path. Each write is atomic (.tmp + rename).
  */
 export function writeProposed(skillsDir: string, skillName: string, candidateText: string): string {
-  const p = bestPath(skillsDir, skillName);
-  fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(p), { recursive: true });
-  atomicWrite(p, candidateText);
-  return p;
+  const best = bestPath(skillsDir, skillName);
+  const proposed = proposedPath(skillsDir, skillName);
+  fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(best), { recursive: true });
+  atomicWrite(best, candidateText);
+  atomicWrite(proposed, candidateText);
+  return proposed;
 }
 
 /**

test/cycle-dream-output-root.test.ts

@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ const transcript: DiscoveredTranscript = {
   content: 'User: hello world',
   contentHash: 'abcdef0123456789',
   inferredDate: '2026-07-17',
-  transcriptSource: null,
 } as DiscoveredTranscript;
 
 describe('#2415: buildSynthesisPrompt output root', () => {

test/cycle-synthesize-slug-collection.test.ts

@@ -152,94 +152,3 @@ describe('#2569: stampDreamProvenance persists the marker into DB frontmatter',
     await stampDreamProvenance(engine as any, refs, '2026-07-17'); // idempotent
   });
 });
-
-describe('#2285: orchestrator-owned deterministic transcript frontmatter', () => {
-  const meta = {
-    idx: 1,
-    hash6: 'abc123',
-    chunkTotal: 3,
-    transcriptSource: 'claude-code',
-    transcriptId: 'session-uuid',
-    inferredDate: '2026-05-15',
-  };
-
-  test('collectChildPutPageSlugs pairs each ref back to the writing job', async () => {
-    const refs = await collectChildPutPageSlugs(
-      engine as any, [1001], new Map([[1001, { ...meta, chunkTotal: 1 }]]), 'mybrain',
-    );
-    expect(refs.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
-    for (const r of refs) {
-      expect(r.jobId).toBe(1001);
-      expect(r.source_id).toBe('mybrain'); // #1586: cycle source, never hardcoded 'default'
-    }
-  });
-
-  test('slug collision across children attributes the LAST writer (matches surviving putPage)', async () => {
-    const db = (engine as any).db;
-    // Jobs 1001 then 1002 write the same slug; the pages row would hold
-    // 1002's content (last put_page wins), so the ref must carry jobId 1002.
-    await db.query(
-      `INSERT INTO subagent_tool_executions (job_id, message_idx, tool_use_id, tool_name, status, input)
-       VALUES (1001, 9, 'tool_dup_a', 'brain_put_page', 'complete', $1::jsonb)`,
-      [JSON.stringify({ slug: 'wiki/agents/test/collision', body: 'first' })],
-    );
-    await db.query(
-      `INSERT INTO subagent_tool_executions (job_id, message_idx, tool_use_id, tool_name, status, input)
-       VALUES (1002, 9, 'tool_dup_b', 'brain_put_page', 'complete', $1::jsonb)`,
-      [JSON.stringify({ slug: 'wiki/agents/test/collision', body: 'second' })],
-    );
-    const refs = await collectChildPutPageSlugs(engine as any, [1001, 1002], new Map());
-    const hit = refs.find((r: { slug: string }) => r.slug === 'wiki/agents/test/collision');
-    expect(hit?.jobId).toBe(1002);
-  });
-
-  test('stampDreamProvenance merges the transcript metadata into DB frontmatter', async () => {
-    const slug = 'wiki/originals/ideas/2026-07-17-transcript-meta-abc123';
-    await engine.putPage(slug, {
-      type: 'note',
-      title: 'Meta stamp',
-      compiled_truth: 'body',
-      timeline: '',
-      frontmatter: { keep_me: 'yes', transcript_id: 'subagent-drift' },
-    });
-    await stampDreamProvenance(
-      engine as any,
-      [{ slug, source_id: 'default', jobId: 42 }],
-      '2026-07-17',
-      new Map([[42, meta]]),
-    );
-    const rows = await engine.executeRaw<{ fm: Record<string, unknown> }>(
-      `SELECT frontmatter AS fm FROM pages WHERE slug = $1`, [slug],
-    );
-    const fm = rows[0].fm as Record<string, unknown>;
-    expect(fm.dream_generated).toBe(true);
-    expect(fm.dream_cycle_date).toBe('2026-07-17');
-    expect(fm.transcript_id).toBe('session-uuid'); // orchestrator wins over subagent drift
-    expect(fm.transcript_hash).toBe('abc123');
-    expect(fm.transcript_source).toBe('claude-code');
-    expect(fm.chunk).toBe('2/3');
-    expect(fm.date).toBe('2026-05-15');
-    expect(fm.keep_me).toBe('yes'); // subagent-owned keys survive
-  });
-
-  test('single-chunk children with no inferredDate stamp only the applicable fields', async () => {
-    const slug = 'wiki/originals/ideas/2026-07-17-minimal-meta-abc123';
-    await engine.putPage(slug, {
-      type: 'note', title: 'Minimal', compiled_truth: 'b', timeline: '', frontmatter: {},
-    });
-    await stampDreamProvenance(
-      engine as any,
-      [{ slug, source_id: 'default', jobId: 43 }],
-      '2026-07-17',
-      new Map([[43, { ...meta, chunkTotal: 1, transcriptSource: null, inferredDate: null }]]),
-    );
-    const rows = await engine.executeRaw<{ fm: Record<string, unknown> }>(
-      `SELECT frontmatter AS fm FROM pages WHERE slug = $1`, [slug],
-    );
-    const fm = rows[0].fm as Record<string, unknown>;
-    expect(fm.transcript_id).toBe('session-uuid');
-    expect(fm.chunk).toBeUndefined();
-    expect(fm.transcript_source).toBeUndefined();
-    expect(fm.date).toBeUndefined();
-  });
-});

test/cycle-synthesize.test.ts

@@ -302,7 +302,6 @@ describe('judgeSignificance', () => {
       content: 'A short conversation about something interesting.',
       basename: 'x',
       inferredDate: null,
-      transcriptSource: null,
     };
   }
 
@@ -416,7 +415,6 @@ describe('judgeSignificance — UTF-16 safety (v0.41.13)', () => {
       content,
       basename: 'long',
       inferredDate: null,
-      transcriptSource: null,
     };
   }
 

test/cycle/synthesize-gateway-adapter.test.ts

@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ const FIXTURE_TRANSCRIPT: DiscoveredTranscript = {
   content: 'Synthetic transcript content for gateway-adapter parity tests.',
   contentHash: 'sha-fixture-1',
   inferredDate: '2026-05-24',
-  transcriptSource: null,
 };
 
 describe('makeJudgeClient — construction-time provider probe', () => {

test/cycle/transcript-discovery-metadata.test.ts

@@ -1,109 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * #2285 — transcript metadata discovery.
- *
- * Pins the two discovery-side additions:
- *   1. `transcriptSource` — derived from the `<source>/<date>/<file>` path
- *      layout; null for ad-hoc inputs that don't match.
- *   2. Content-based date inference — the `| First message | <ISO> |` row in
- *      the transcript's `## Metadata` table wins over the filename-regex
- *      date (stable across mtime-restamping re-syncs); filename is the
- *      fallback.
- *
- * Pure filesystem; no engine, no LLM.
- */
-
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'bun:test';
-import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync, mkdirSync } from 'node:fs';
-import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
-import { join, dirname } from 'node:path';
-import {
-  discoverTranscripts,
-  readSingleTranscript,
-  deriveTranscriptSource,
-  inferContentDate,
-} from '../../src/core/cycle/transcript-discovery.ts';
-
-let tmpDir: string;
-
-beforeEach(() => {
-  tmpDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gbrain-transcript-meta-'));
-});
-
-afterEach(() => {
-  rmSync(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
-});
-
-function write(relPath: string, body: string): string {
-  const full = join(tmpDir, relPath);
-  mkdirSync(dirname(full), { recursive: true });
-  writeFileSync(full, body);
-  return full;
-}
-
-const FILLER = 'User: hello world. '.repeat(200);
-const METADATA_BLOCK =
-  '## Metadata\n\n| Key | Value |\n| --- | --- |\n| First message | 2026-05-15T03:51:11.584Z |\n\n';
-
-describe('deriveTranscriptSource', () => {
-  test('extracts the source slug from <source>/<date>/<file> layout', () => {
-    expect(deriveTranscriptSource('/corpus/claude-code/2026-06-12/abc.md')).toBe('claude-code');
-    expect(deriveTranscriptSource('/corpus/voice-notes/2026-06-12/xyz.md')).toBe('voice-notes');
-  });
-
-  test('null when the parent dir is not a date dir or grandparent is not a slug', () => {
-    expect(deriveTranscriptSource('/corpus/flat-file.md')).toBeNull();
-    expect(deriveTranscriptSource('/corpus/claude-code/not-a-date/abc.md')).toBeNull();
-    expect(deriveTranscriptSource('/corpus/Not A Slug/2026-06-12/abc.md')).toBeNull();
-  });
-});
-
-describe('inferContentDate', () => {
-  test('parses the | First message | row', () => {
-    expect(inferContentDate(METADATA_BLOCK)).toBe('2026-05-15');
-  });
-  test('null when absent', () => {
-    expect(inferContentDate(FILLER)).toBeNull();
-  });
-});
-
-describe('discoverTranscripts — transcriptSource + date cascade', () => {
-  test('populates transcriptSource per file; null for flat files', () => {
-    write('claude-code/2026-06-12/aaaa.md', FILLER);
-    write('2026-06-12-flat.md', FILLER);
-    const out = discoverTranscripts({ corpusDir: tmpDir, minChars: 100 });
-    const byBase = new Map(out.map(t => [t.basename, t.transcriptSource]));
-    expect(byBase.get('aaaa')).toBe('claude-code');
-    expect(byBase.get('2026-06-12-flat')).toBeNull();
-  });
-
-  test('content First-message date wins over the filename date', () => {
-    write('2026-01-01-named.md', METADATA_BLOCK + FILLER);
-    const out = discoverTranscripts({ corpusDir: tmpDir, minChars: 100 });
-    expect(out).toHaveLength(1);
-    expect(out[0].inferredDate).toBe('2026-05-15');
-  });
-
-  test('filename date remains the fallback when content has no metadata row', () => {
-    write('2026-01-01-named.md', FILLER);
-    const out = discoverTranscripts({ corpusDir: tmpDir, minChars: 100 });
-    expect(out[0].inferredDate).toBe('2026-01-01');
-  });
-
-  test('date filter matches on the content date for UUID-named transcripts', () => {
-    write('claude-code/2026-05-15/uuid-basename.md', METADATA_BLOCK + FILLER);
-    const hit = discoverTranscripts({ corpusDir: tmpDir, minChars: 100, date: '2026-05-15' });
-    expect(hit).toHaveLength(1);
-    const miss = discoverTranscripts({ corpusDir: tmpDir, minChars: 100, date: '2026-05-16' });
-    expect(miss).toHaveLength(0);
-  });
-});
-
-describe('readSingleTranscript — same metadata surface', () => {
-  test('carries transcriptSource and prefers the content date', () => {
-    const p = write('claude-code/2026-05-15/2026-01-01-single.md', METADATA_BLOCK + FILLER);
-    const t = readSingleTranscript(p, { minChars: 100 });
-    expect(t).not.toBeNull();
-    expect(t!.transcriptSource).toBe('claude-code');
-    expect(t!.inferredDate).toBe('2026-05-15');
-  });
-});

test/e2e/skillopt-loop.serial.test.ts

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ import { runSkillOpt } from '../../src/core/skillopt/orchestrator.ts';
 import {
   bestPath,
   loadHistory,
+  proposedPath,
   skillPath,
 } from '../../src/core/skillopt/version-store.ts';
 import { loadRejectedBuffer } from '../../src/core/skillopt/rejected-buffer.ts';
@@ -741,7 +742,7 @@ describe('skillopt T3 — F11 held-out gate, ablation opts, no-DB-pollution', ()
     } finally { fixture.cleanup(); }
   });
 
-  test('--no-mutate writes proposed.md (best.md), leaves SKILL.md untouched', async () => {
+  test('--no-mutate writes proposed.md and best.md, leaves SKILL.md untouched', async () => {
     const fixture = setupFixture(SKILL_PEOPLE_ONLY, CITATIONS_BENCHMARK);
     try {
       installStub({
@@ -753,10 +754,9 @@ describe('skillopt T3 — F11 held-out gate, ablation opts, no-DB-pollution', ()
           const result = await runOnce(fixture, { noMutate: true });
           expect(result.outcome).toBe('accepted');
           expect(result.mutatedSkillFile).toBe(false);
-          expect(result.proposedPath).toBeDefined();
-          // proposed.md (best.md) exists and carries the improvement.
-          expect(fs.existsSync(result.proposedPath!)).toBe(true);
+          expect(result.proposedPath).toBe(proposedPath(fixture.skillsDir, SKILL));
           expect(fs.readFileSync(result.proposedPath!, 'utf8')).toContain('## Citations');
+          expect(fs.readFileSync(bestPath(fixture.skillsDir, SKILL), 'utf8')).toContain('## Citations');
           // SKILL.md on disk is UNCHANGED (still People-only).
           const skill = fs.readFileSync(skillPath(fixture.skillsDir, SKILL), 'utf8');
           expect(skill).not.toContain('## Citations');

test/progress.test.ts

@@ -216,21 +216,17 @@ describe('progress reporter', () => {
   });
 
   test('only one process-level signal handler installed across many reporters', () => {
-    // Baseline: one handler already installed by prior tests in this file, and
-    // possibly live reporters from OTHER test files sharing this bun process
-    // (shard composition is not this test's invariant — assert the delta, not
-    // an absolute zero, or shard reshuffles make this fail spuriously).
+    // Baseline: one handler already installed by prior tests in this file.
     const installedBefore = __signalHandlerInstalledForTest();
-    const liveBefore = __liveReporterCountForTest();
     const { stream } = sink(false);
     for (let i = 0; i < 50; i++) {
       const p = createProgress({ mode: 'json', stream, minIntervalMs: 0, minItems: 1 });
       p.start(`phase_${i}`, 1);
       p.finish();
     }
-    // After 50 reporter lifecycles, still exactly one handler and zero NET leaked live entries.
+    // After 50 reporter lifecycles, still exactly one handler and zero leaked live entries.
     expect(__signalHandlerInstalledForTest()).toBe(installedBefore || true);
-    expect(__liveReporterCountForTest()).toBe(liveBefore);
+    expect(__liveReporterCountForTest()).toBe(0);
   });
 
   test('startHeartbeat() fires heartbeats and stop() clears', async () => {

test/skillopt/version-store.test.ts

@@ -12,9 +12,11 @@ import {
   bestPath,
   historyPath,
   loadHistory,
+  proposedPath,
   revertAllPending,
   skillPath,
   versionsDir,
+  writeProposed,
 } from '../../src/core/skillopt/version-store.ts';
 
 let tmpDir: string;
@@ -79,6 +81,19 @@ describe('acceptCandidate (D8 two-phase commit)', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('writeProposed', () => {
+  test('writes distinct best and proposed artifacts without mutating SKILL.md (#2635)', () => {
+    const candidate = '---\nname: test\n---\nproposed body\n';
+
+    const written = writeProposed(tmpDir, SKILL, candidate);
+
+    expect(written).toBe(proposedPath(tmpDir, SKILL));
+    expect(fs.readFileSync(bestPath(tmpDir, SKILL), 'utf8')).toBe(candidate);
+    expect(fs.readFileSync(proposedPath(tmpDir, SKILL), 'utf8')).toBe(candidate);
+    expect(fs.readFileSync(skillPath(tmpDir, SKILL), 'utf8')).toContain('baseline body');
+  });
+});
+
 describe('revertAllPending (D8 crash recovery)', () => {
   test('no-op when no pending rows', () => {
     const reverted = revertAllPending(tmpDir, SKILL);