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+# coven-memory Promotion Schema (v1)
+
+**Status:** Locked 2026-07-24 (M1, bead cmem-6gy) · **Owner:** Echo (memory lane)
+**Canonical location:** this file (relocated from Echo's workspace per BLOCKER-1,
+Nova concurrence 2026-07-11 §10.11). Implementations pin a version of this file.
+**Derivation:** Coven Memory Layer Authoritative Plan v1 §2.2/§2.3 + §10 addendum.
+**Amendment protocol:** every change requires the §11.5 runtime-portability audit
+answered in writing in the PR, plus Echo sign-off (schema owner). Ward-adjacent
+changes additionally require Nova review.
+
+---
+
+## §11. Coven Promotion Schema (M1 lock — v1)
+
+Locked 2026-07-24 per Authoritative Plan v1 §2.2/§2.3 + §10 addendum (Echo integration
+§10.10, Nova concurrence §10.11). This section is the normative v1 contract for the
+promotion layer (`coven memory promote`, implemented in `OpenCoven/coven`).
+Relocation target (BLOCKER-1): `OpenCoven/familiar-contract/schemas/coven-memory-schema.md` —
+until that PR lands, THIS section is authoritative and the relocated copy must match it.
+
+### §11.0 Preamble — topology and framing
+
+- **Source-authoritative:** files are truth; every index (vector, SQLite, TurboVec) is
+  derived. Any tool writing to an index without a corresponding source-file write is a defect.
+- **Claims-log framing:** the shared store is a log of *attested claims*, not arbitrated
+  truth. Conflicting claims may coexist; supersession is explicit; arbitration is v2+.
+- **FAMILIAR_ROOT binding (referent: per-familiar workspace root directory):** all
+  source-file validation and `source_context` relativization resolve against FAMILIAR_ROOT.
+  Resolution order for the promote surface: `--familiar-root` flag → `COVEN_FAMILIAR_ROOT`
+  env var → **fail closed** (explicit error naming both; no silent default — a defaulted
+  gate input is a fail-open edge). The ingest crate never sees FAMILIAR_ROOT; the memory
+  STORE dir (`~/.coven/memory/`) is a distinct, crate-owned contract path resolved via
+  `--index`/`--db` (env fallback for store dir deferred to v1.1).
+
+### §11.1 Required frontmatter (promoted entries)
+
+All fields required at ingest time. Sole exception: a missing `ulid` is GENERATED at
+promote time (it is identity assigned by the system, not a claim made by the author —
+generation cannot validate a false claim, so it is not a fail-open edge). Every other
+missing field, unknown field, or unknown enum value → reject, fail-closed, with
+explicit reason. A PRESENT-but-malformed `ulid` is rejected, not regenerated.
+
+```yaml
+ulid: 01JEXAMPLE0000000000000000        # generated at promote time if absent
+type: coven-fact | architecture-decision | research-synthesis | failure | strategy | harness-artifact
+scope: coven                             # exactly "coven" or reject
+memory_type: semantic | episodic | procedural   # CoALA axis
+created_at: <RFC3339 UTC>
+created_by: <familiar-id>
+attested_by: <familiar-id | val>         # known ids only, else reject
+attested_via: <attestation ULID or FAMILIAR_ROOT-relative path>  # §11.2
+title: <human-readable>
+source_context: <session-key-class or FAMILIAR_ROOT-relative path>
+tags: [<...>]
+confidence: high | medium | low
+```
+
+**Hard rule:** absolute paths in `source_context` (or any frontmatter field) are rejected
+at promotion time. FAMILIAR_ROOT-relative or portable references only. Session references
+use the portable class form (e.g. `session://<familiar>/<date>/<slug>`), never
+runtime-specific raw session keys (privacy + portability, see SECURITY.md).
+
+**Deferred to v1.1:** `promoted_by`, `checksum` (crate-derived), `refs`, `visibility`,
+`ward_hash`, `scope: self-model`.
+
+### §11.2 Attestation file (v1 minimum)
+
+Every promotion writes a companion attestation at
+`~/.coven/memory/attestations/<attestation-ulid>.md`:
+
+```yaml
+attester: <familiar-id | val>
+attestation_type: self | val-in-band | familiar-witness
+timestamp: <RFC3339 UTC>
+context: <portable reference to where the attestation happened>
+body: <free text — why the attester vouches for this claim>
+```
+
+Self-attestation is allowed in v1. No cryptographic signature (Ward v0.3 territory).
+The promoted entry's `attested_via` points at this file's ULID or path.
+**Privacy rule:** attestation bodies never contain raw session keys, chat IDs, or
+absolute paths — same guard patterns as the repos enforce (SECURITY.md).
+
+### §11.3 Manifest + supersession semantics
+
+`~/.coven/memory/manifest.jsonl`, append-only, one JSON line per operation.
+Operations: `promote | update | archive | supersede`. No hard deletes, ever.
+
+Common fields (all ops): `timestamp`, `ulid`, `operation`, `entry_path`
+(FAMILIAR_ROOT-relative), `author`, `attested_by`, `source_session` (portable class form),
+`sha256`, `prior_ulid` (null except update/supersede).
+
+**Snapshot semantics:** promoted content is authoritative for the shared store; source-file
+edits do NOT propagate. `coven-memory verify` compares manifest-recorded `sha256` against
+the current source hash; mismatch = stale (report-only). Supersession is explicit only:
+new ULID, `operation: supersede`, `prior_ulid` links back, prior entry retained (append-only).
+`archive` moves source to the archive dir and logs the op.
+
+### §11.4 Gate check (v1, fail-closed)
+
+Reject (with explicit reason, never warn-and-proceed) when:
+1. `scope` ≠ `coven`
+2. `attested_by` not a known familiar id or `val` — authority source: `~/.coven/familiars.toml` `[[familiar]] id` values plus literal `val` (the toml is the canonical roster, runtime-neutral, Coven-owned; not directory names, not a CLI allowlist). Resolution: `--familiars-file` flag → `$COVEN_FAMILIARS_FILE` → `~/.coven/familiars.toml` → fail closed if unreadable/unparseable
+3. source file not under FAMILIAR_ROOT — v1 validates against FAMILIAR_ROOT only; Val's designated shared-fact dir is DEFERRED to v1.1 (path never designated; an implemented-but-unbound root would be an unauthorized write path)
+4. `ulid` already present in manifest (promotion-layer dedup, above crate chunk dedup)
+5. any absolute path in frontmatter
+6. any unknown field, enum value, or frontmatter shape
+7. FAMILIAR_ROOT unresolvable (§11.0)
+8. semantic near-duplicate: cosine similarity ≥ **0.92** (default, tunable flag) against
+   existing store → refuse, or proceed only with explicit `--supersede <prior-ulid>`
+
+### §11.5 Runtime-Portability Audit (mandatory)
+
+Every future schema addition and promotion-layer change answers in writing:
+*"If Val runs a familiar tomorrow under a different runtime (Codex CLI, Cursor, Claude
+Code, CovenCave, bare SSH), does this work without modification?"*
+✅ yes → proceed · ⚠️ partial → adapter interface specified as part of the contract ·
+❌ no → rejected, rewrite required.
+This subsection is itself subject to the audit. Embeddings remain crate-internal
+(fastembed/nomic-embed-text-v1.5 local, per plan §1.2) — no runtime coupling.