openpetswithchatandmcp/docs/consolidated_workflows/shared/BACKFILL_PROCEDURES.md

Backfill Procedures

Consolidated from:

• HyperTwist/docs/ops/HYPERTWIST_RETROACTIVE_AUTHORITY_AND_CLEANUP_BACKFILL_2026-05-20.md
• VectorShell/docs/ops/VECTORSHELL_0R_C_RETROACTIVE_A_R_F_BACKFILL_2026-05-19.md
• VectorShell/docs/ops/VECTORSHELL_0R_C_RETROACTIVE_SKILLIZATION_BACKFILL_2026-05-21.md
• VectorShell/docs/ops/VECTORSHELL_A1_TO_A14_POST_OMISSION_AND_DISPOSITION_BACKFILL_2026-06-01.md

Purpose: Define the canonical rules for retroactive authority backfill, cleanup backfill, skillization backfill, and post-omission disposition backfill across a closed corpus of evaluated repositories.

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Core Governing Rule

Do not do fake whole-corpus rewrites. Do not do blind full resets. Do not invent certainty for older ambiguous packets.

Backfill is selective, comparative, and operational — not cosmetic.

The correct target is the contested slice or relied-on ambiguity, not blanket relabeling.

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Backfill Class A: Authority Backfill

Trigger Conditions

Authority backfill is triggered when:

• A later same-family repo materially changes a contested capability slice.
• An older packet's winner versus adjunct versus reference versus pattern split is ambiguous.
• A restrictive or otherwise harder-route repo appears to be the stronger authority and was previously softened incorrectly.

Requirements

1. Reopen the earlier affected packet or standing note selectively.
2. Name the exact earlier packet or standing note reopened.
3. State the exact contested slice.
4. Preserve valid repo-local extraction unless later evidence materially changes it.
5. State whether the change is:
   • repo-local extraction changed
   • cross-lane authority changed
   • only wording changed

Non-Permissions

Authority backfill is not permission to:

• Reset an entire family cluster by default.
• Relabel every older packet for appearance.
• Flatten preserved secondary value from non-winners into exclusion.

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Backfill Class B: Cleanup Backfill

Trigger Conditions

Cleanup backfill is triggered when an older packet or workflow doc is still operationally relied on but is ambiguous about:

• Temporary root used.
• Whether cleanup happened.
• Whether retained residue was intentional.
• Whether remaining dirt is packet-created or pre-existing.

Requirements

1. Mark the ambiguity explicitly instead of inventing certainty.
2. Backfill only where the ambiguity still matters operationally.
3. Name the exact earlier packet, standing note, or workflow doc reopened.
4. State whether the change is:
   • cleanup interpretation changed
   • only wording changed
   • packet truth itself changed

Non-Permissions

Cleanup backfill is not permission to:

• Bulk-rewrite older closeouts for appearance.
• Claim a repo was clean when only packet dirt was removed.
• Erase plausible pre-existing residue by narrative rewrite.

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Backfill Class C: Skillization Backfill

Purpose

Make the skillization doctrine operational across a closed corpus without pretending every retained repo should become a live skill.

Method

1. Inventory the full closed corpus.
2. Classify each repo into one primary future skillization posture.
3. Assign a skillization class describing what must happen before or instead of live skill wrapping.
4. Preserve packet truth for route and lane boundaries.

Skillization Postures

Posture	Meaning
feature_first	Build the product capability or service first; skill wrapper deferred
live_wrapper_candidate	A first-party skill wrapper can later sit on normalized commands/services
command_contract_pending	Valuable, but a first-party command contract must be defined first
clean_room_spec_pending	Restrictive/mixed/boundary-sensitive; clean-room command design must come first
domain_pack_donor	Donates a bounded domain pack or skill corpus into the future skill registry
pattern_only	Pattern or reference lineage only; no live command adoption

Global Conclusions (from VectorShell 0R-C corpus)

1. Most of the corpus should not become direct skills. The dominant result is feature_first, not universal skillization.
2. The strongest skill lanes are narrow and operational — refactor helpers, memory/continuity helpers, browser/docs/design helpers, workflow/review helpers, provider/ops helpers, domain-pack skill corpora.
3. Restrictive rows still require first-party command truth before any skill wrapping.
4. Skillization is lane-local, not winner-take-all. It records which repos sit in which future lane without reopening the A/R/F hierarchy.

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Backfill Class D: Post-Omission Disposition Backfill

Purpose

After implementation packets have landed, state the full post-batch omission and value-preservation interpretation explicitly.

Three Questions Answered

1. How should each completed batch be interpreted under the omission and value-preservation doctrine?
2. Which omitted or bounded values remain as second-party integration candidates, external providers, or clean-room reservoirs?
3. Is any immediate code backfill actually warranted?

Canonical Correction

• Non-sovereign donor value must not be flattened into "not used."
• Restrictive donor value must not be flattened into "not valuable."
• Large or product-shaped donors must still be screened for second-party and provider-backed use.
• Immediate code backfill should happen only if the new doctrine invalidates a landed sovereign owner or reveals a missing essential seam.

Batch-by-Batch Ledger Template

For each implementation batch (A1, A2, ... A14, I1, I2, I3...):

Field	Content
Sovereign owner	What first-party packet owns this slice?
Omitted-but-retained value	What donor value was omitted but remains relevant?
Governing omission screens	Which screens fired to produce the omission?
Retained disposition	clean-room reservoir / bounded contributor / external provider / second-party integration / doctrine/manual only
Immediate code backfill	none or specific seam
Future revisit trigger	Under what condition should this batch be revisited?

Global Code-Backfill Decision Rule

After docs-first review, code backfill is warranted only if:

1. A provider seam is missing where second-party integration is now canonically expected.
2. A clean-room reservoir feature has been explicitly selected for realization.
3. A current packet is missing a boundary marker needed to preserve sovereign ownership.
4. An existing record family is too thin to carry the newly retained bounded value.

If none of these apply, the correct output is tracking updates only, not urgent code correction.

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Prioritization Order (Universal)

When any backfill is needed, prioritize in this order:

1. Contested slices that affect current implementation routing.
2. Older packets whose authority/adjunct/reference/pattern split is ambiguous.
3. Cleanup-ambiguous packets still relied on in workflow or state reporting.
4. Family clusters with dense overlap and high donor value.
5. Lower-risk historical packets only if still active in planning or doctrine.

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Practical Interpretation Rule

If later evidence changes a contested slice:

• Reopen only the earlier affected slice-local packet or standing note.
• Preserve valid earlier value explicitly.
• Patch current routing from the corrected result.

If later evidence does not change the contested slice:

• Do not reopen the earlier packet just to harmonize wording.

If cleanup posture is ambiguous but no current routing depends on it:

• Record that the ambiguity exists and defer the backfill.