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a2ml-validate flags design-rationale/example .a2ml for "missing identity field" #435
Description
Problem
a2ml-validate-action (source a2ml/actions/validate/…) errors "Missing required identity field (agent-id, name, or project)" on illustrative / design-rationale .a2ml files that aren't identity-bearing manifests — e.g. machine-readable-design/canonical-directory-structure/{Adjustfile,Intentfile,Mustfile,Trustfile,bust/Bustfile,dust/Dustfile}.a2ml.
Evidence
On hermeneia: 34 A2ML errors across 126 scanned files, all the "missing identity field" pattern (+ "missing version/schema_version" warnings), concentrated in the machine-readable-design/ design tree and per-directory 0.x-AI-MANIFEST.a2ml files. These describe structure/rationale, not a manifested identity.
Fix options
- (a, recommended) Exempt design-rationale/example trees (
machine-readable-design/,self-validating/examples/) from identity validation. - (b) Add an identity field only where a file is a genuine manifest.
Also
SHA-pin the a2ml-validate-action@<sha> # main ref (currently moving).
Targets / acceptance
a2ml (validator source) + hyperpolymath/a2ml-validate-action; propagate to rsr-template-repo. Acceptance: dogfood-gate "Validate A2ML manifests" passes on a clean RSR repo.
Filed from a Claude Code session working on hermeneia. Add to the master scheduler.
Activity
hyperpolymath commentedon Jul 21, 2026
Fixed at source in #521 (
a2ml/actions/validate/validate-a2ml.sh), option (a). The file-level identity error had no basis in the SPEC (identity is per-@record: author/tool/kind, §7) and flagged 465 of 1550 canonical files. It is now a lint warning checked against the shapes the estate actually uses (spec_id,[metadata]/[scorecard]sections,@abstractdirective), with identity-free-by-design classes exempted: AI manifests, templates (basename or{{PLACEHOLDER}}body), and design-rationale trees viaINPUT_DESIGN_TREES(defaultmachine-readable-design/ self-validating/examples/ docs/templates/). Repo-wide: 465 → 0 errors. Also fixed aGITHUB_OUTPUT: unbound variableabort outside Actions. Residual, not done here: SHA-pin thea2ml-validate-action@mainref + propagate to the published action + rsr-template-repo.fix(ci): honest validators + Hypatia baseline from full 195-finding t…
hyperpolymath commentedon Jul 27, 2026
Status: validator source fixed and merged (#521); propagation to the published action is the remaining acceptance bar.
a2ml/actions/validate/validate-a2ml.shno longer errors on design-rationale/example.a2mlfiles — option (a) as recommended. The file-level identity check (which had no SPEC basis — identity is per-@record, §7) is now a lint warning against the shapes the estate actually uses (spec_id,[metadata]/[scorecard]sections,@abstract), with exemptions for AI manifests, templates ({{PLACEHOLDER}}bodies), and design trees viaINPUT_DESIGN_TREES(defaultmachine-readable-design/ self-validating/examples/ docs/templates/). Repo-wide: 465 → 0 errors. Also fixed aGITHUB_OUTPUT: unbound variableabort outside Actions.Remaining for acceptance:
hyperpolymath/a2ml-validate-action.rsr-template-repo.a2ml-validate-action@mainref.Keeping open until the published action carries the fix.
hyperpolymath commentedon Aug 24, 2026
Acceptance is now met on the live renamed action/template path. The published action is hyperpolymath/a2ml-ecosystem/validate-action; its main-branch validator carries the non-Actions GITHUB_OUTPUT fallback and treats missing file-level identity as a warning with structural/template exemptions rather than the former hard error. rsr-template-repo consumes hyperpolymath/a2ml-ecosystem/validate-action@main through actions.lock, which resolves it immutably to aa4b836bd969df2bc58128cb8e3d20bbc88d5e79. The live Validate A2ML manifests dogfood job passed on rsr-template-repo#38. Thus source, published action, template consumption, immutable resolution, and clean-template dogfood acceptance are all present.