Add peripheral — own-core, consent-gated I/O organ

939-line Swift I/O organ (mic/camera capture, speaker playback via
AVFoundation/CoreAudio), own-core LPC voice synthesis/imitation,
consent-gating, and full-duplex barge-in conversation — closing the
hear -> understand -> speak loop entirely on-device.

.gitignore in this dir already excludes bin/ (build output), out/
(captured media), and .consent.json/.resume.json (local runtime state),
so only src + README + .gitignore are committed here.

.gitea/workflows/ci-dev.yaml

@@ -214,9 +214,18 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GCP_SA_KEY: ${{ secrets.GCP_SA_KEY }}
         run: |
+          # Fail loudly: previously this step had no `set -e`, so an auth or
+          # upload failure was swallowed (step exited 0 on the trailing echo)
+          # and the SDK silently never published. Surface failures now.
+          set -euo pipefail
+          if [ -z "${GCP_SA_KEY:-}" ]; then
+            echo "FATAL: GCP_SA_KEY secret is empty — cannot authenticate to publish" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
           echo "${GCP_SA_KEY}" > /tmp/gcp-key.json
           gcloud auth activate-service-account --key-file=/tmp/gcp-key.json
           gcloud config set project neuron-785695
+          echo "Publishing as active account: $(gcloud config get-value account 2>/dev/null)"
 
           VERSION="${GITHUB_SHA:0:8}"
 
@@ -268,6 +277,12 @@ jobs:
         # Patches ci-base:dev in-place: pulls the existing image (which has all
         # system deps — Node, Go, gcloud, Docker CLI, etc.) and overlays the freshly
         # built El SDK on top. Keeps the full ci-base rebuild fast and incremental.
+        #
+        # continue-on-error: this is a CI-cache optimization, NOT the release
+        # artifact. It runs Docker (pull/build/push ~600MB) on the host-mode GCE
+        # runner where DinD/Docker availability is fragile. A failure here must
+        # never block or redden the job — the SDK publish above is the deliverable.
+        continue-on-error: true
         if: github.event_name == 'push'
         env:
           GCP_SA_KEY: ${{ secrets.GCP_SA_KEY }}

.gitea/workflows/ci-stage.yaml

@@ -212,12 +212,21 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GCP_SA_KEY: ${{ secrets.GCP_SA_KEY }}
         run: |
+          # Fail loudly: previously this step had no `set -e`, so an auth or
+          # upload failure was swallowed (step exited 0 on the trailing echo)
+          # and the SDK silently never published. Surface failures now.
+          set -euo pipefail
+          if [ -z "${GCP_SA_KEY:-}" ]; then
+            echo "FATAL: GCP_SA_KEY secret is empty — cannot authenticate to publish" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
           echo "${GCP_SA_KEY}" > /tmp/gcp-key.json
           apt-get install -y -qq apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl
           echo "deb [trusted=yes] https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt cloud-sdk main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-cloud-sdk.list
           apt-get update -qq && apt-get install -y google-cloud-cli
           gcloud auth activate-service-account --key-file=/tmp/gcp-key.json
           gcloud config set project neuron-785695
+          echo "Publishing as active account: $(gcloud config get-value account 2>/dev/null)"
 
           VERSION="${GITHUB_SHA:0:8}"
 
@@ -253,6 +262,12 @@ jobs:
         # Patches ci-base:stage in-place: pulls the existing image (which has all
         # system deps — Node, Go, gcloud, Docker CLI, etc.) and overlays the freshly
         # built El SDK on top. Keeps the full ci-base rebuild fast and incremental.
+        #
+        # continue-on-error: this is a CI-cache optimization, NOT the release
+        # artifact. It runs Docker (pull/build/push ~600MB) on the host-mode GCE
+        # runner where DinD/Docker availability is fragile. A failure here must
+        # never block or redden the job — the SDK publish above is the deliverable.
+        continue-on-error: true
         if: github.event_name == 'push'
         env:
           GCP_SA_KEY: ${{ secrets.GCP_SA_KEY }}

.gitea/workflows/sdk-release.yaml

@@ -288,12 +288,21 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GCP_SA_KEY: ${{ secrets.GCP_SA_KEY }}
         run: |
+          # Fail loudly: previously this step had no `set -e`, so an auth or
+          # upload failure was swallowed (step exited 0 on the trailing echo)
+          # and the SDK silently never published. Surface failures now.
+          set -euo pipefail
+          if [ -z "${GCP_SA_KEY:-}" ]; then
+            echo "FATAL: GCP_SA_KEY secret is empty — cannot authenticate to publish" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
           echo "${GCP_SA_KEY}" > /tmp/gcp-key.json
           apt-get install -y -qq apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl
           echo "deb [trusted=yes] https://packages.cloud.google.com/apt cloud-sdk main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-cloud-sdk.list
           apt-get update -qq && apt-get install -y google-cloud-cli
           gcloud auth activate-service-account --key-file=/tmp/gcp-key.json
           gcloud config set project neuron-785695
+          echo "Publishing as active account: $(gcloud config get-value account 2>/dev/null)"
 
           VERSION="${GITHUB_SHA:0:8}"
 
@@ -345,6 +354,12 @@ jobs:
         # Patches ci-base:latest in-place: pulls the existing image (which has all
         # system deps — Node, Go, gcloud, Docker CLI, etc.) and overlays the freshly
         # built El SDK on top. Keeps the full ci-base rebuild fast and incremental.
+        #
+        # continue-on-error: this is a CI-cache optimization, NOT the release
+        # artifact. It runs Docker (pull/build/push ~600MB) on the host-mode GCE
+        # runner where DinD/Docker availability is fragile. A failure here must
+        # never block or redden the job — the SDK publish above is the deliverable.
+        continue-on-error: true
         if: github.event_name == 'push'
         env:
           GCP_SA_KEY: ${{ secrets.GCP_SA_KEY }}

engram/.gitea/workflows/ci-dev.yaml

@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ jobs:
       # Link to produce the engram binary
       - name: Link engram binary
         run: |
-          cc -std=c11 -O2 \
+          cc -std=c11 -O2 -DHAVE_CURL \
             -I /usr/local/lib/el \
             -o dist/engram \
             dist/engram.c \

engram/.gitea/workflows/ci-stage.yaml

@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ jobs:
       # Link to produce the engram binary
       - name: Link engram binary
         run: |
-          cc -std=c11 -O2 \
+          cc -std=c11 -O2 -DHAVE_CURL \
             -I /usr/local/lib/el \
             -o dist/engram \
             dist/engram.c \

engram/.gitea/workflows/engram-release.yaml

@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ jobs:
       # Link to produce the engram binary
       - name: Link engram binary
         run: |
-          cc -std=c11 -O2 \
+          cc -std=c11 -O2 -DHAVE_CURL \
             -I /usr/local/lib/el \
             -o dist/engram \
             dist/engram.c \

engram/dist/engram.c

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ el_val_t query_param(el_val_t path, el_val_t key);
 el_val_t query_int(el_val_t path, el_val_t key, el_val_t default_val);
 el_val_t extract_id(el_val_t path, el_val_t prefix);
 el_val_t route_stats(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
+el_val_t persist_canonical(void);
 el_val_t route_create_node(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_get_node(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_scan_nodes(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
@@ -20,18 +21,23 @@ el_val_t route_create_edge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_neighbors(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_strengthen(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_forget(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
-el_val_t route_create_ise(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
-el_val_t route_sync(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_save(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_load(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_health(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
+el_val_t route_sync(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
+el_val_t route_load_merge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
+el_val_t route_emit_ise(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
+el_val_t route_capture_knowledge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t check_auth_ok(el_val_t method, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t handle_request(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 
+el_val_t bind_raw;
 el_val_t bind_str;
 el_val_t port;
+el_val_t data_dir_raw;
 el_val_t data_dir;
 el_val_t snapshot_path;
+el_val_t boot_snap;
 
 el_val_t parse_port(el_val_t bind) {
   el_val_t colon = str_index_of(bind, EL_STR(":"));
@@ -110,17 +116,22 @@ el_val_t route_stats(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
   return 0;
 }
 
+el_val_t persist_canonical(void) {
+  el_val_t dir_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
+  el_val_t dir = ({ el_val_t _if_result_1 = 0; if (str_eq(dir_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_1 = (EL_STR("/tmp/engram")); } else { _if_result_1 = (dir_raw); } _if_result_1; });
+  engram_save(el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json")));
+  return 1;
+  return 0;
+}
+
 el_val_t route_create_node(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
   el_val_t content = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("content"));
-  el_val_t node_type = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("node_type"));
-  if (str_eq(node_type, EL_STR(""))) {
-    node_type = EL_STR("Memory");
-  }
-  el_val_t salience = json_get_float(body, EL_STR("salience"));
-  if (salience == el_from_float(0.0)) {
-    salience = el_from_float(0.5);
-  }
+  el_val_t nt_raw = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("node_type"));
+  el_val_t node_type = ({ el_val_t _if_result_2 = 0; if (str_eq(nt_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_2 = (EL_STR("Memory")); } else { _if_result_2 = (nt_raw); } _if_result_2; });
+  el_val_t sal_raw = json_get_float(body, EL_STR("salience"));
+  el_val_t salience = ({ el_val_t _if_result_3 = 0; if ((sal_raw == el_from_float(0.0))) { _if_result_3 = (el_from_float(0.5)); } else { _if_result_3 = (sal_raw); } _if_result_3; });
   el_val_t id = engram_node(content, node_type, salience);
+  el_val_t saved = persist_canonical();
   return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"id\":\""), id), EL_STR("\",\"content\":\"")), content), EL_STR("\",\"node_type\":\"")), node_type), EL_STR("\"}"));
   return 0;
 }
@@ -146,11 +157,9 @@ el_val_t route_scan_nodes(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
 }
 
 el_val_t route_scan_edges(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t dir = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
-  if (str_eq(dir, EL_STR(""))) {
-    dir = EL_STR("/tmp/engram");
-  }
-  el_val_t snap_path = el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json"));
+  el_val_t dir_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
+  el_val_t dir = ({ el_val_t _if_result_4 = 0; if (str_eq(dir_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_4 = (EL_STR("/tmp/engram")); } else { _if_result_4 = (dir_raw); } _if_result_4; });
+  el_val_t snap_path = el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/.scan-export.json"));
   engram_save(snap_path);
   el_val_t snap = fs_read(snap_path);
   if (str_eq(snap, EL_STR(""))) {
@@ -165,36 +174,22 @@ el_val_t route_scan_edges(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
 }
 
 el_val_t route_search(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t q = EL_STR("");
-  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET"))) {
-    q = query_param(path, EL_STR("q"));
-  } else {
-    q = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("query"));
-  }
-  el_val_t limit = query_int(path, EL_STR("limit"), 20);
-  if (limit == 0) {
-    limit = json_get_int(body, EL_STR("limit"));
-  }
-  if (limit == 0) {
-    limit = 20;
-  }
+  el_val_t q = ({ el_val_t _if_result_5 = 0; if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET"))) { _if_result_5 = (query_param(path, EL_STR("q"))); } else { _if_result_5 = (json_get_string(body, EL_STR("query"))); } _if_result_5; });
+  el_val_t lim_url = query_int(path, EL_STR("limit"), 0);
+  el_val_t lim_body = json_get_int(body, EL_STR("limit"));
+  el_val_t lim_either = ({ el_val_t _if_result_6 = 0; if ((lim_url > 0)) { _if_result_6 = (lim_url); } else { _if_result_6 = (lim_body); } _if_result_6; });
+  el_val_t limit = ({ el_val_t _if_result_7 = 0; if ((lim_either > 0)) { _if_result_7 = (lim_either); } else { _if_result_7 = (20); } _if_result_7; });
   return engram_search_json(q, limit);
   return 0;
 }
 
 el_val_t route_activate(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t q = EL_STR("");
-  el_val_t depth = 3;
-  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET"))) {
-    q = query_param(path, EL_STR("q"));
-    depth = query_int(path, EL_STR("depth"), 3);
-  } else {
-    q = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("query"));
-    el_val_t bd = json_get_int(body, EL_STR("depth"));
-    if (bd > 0) {
-      depth = bd;
-    }
+  el_val_t q = ({ el_val_t _if_result_8 = 0; if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET"))) { _if_result_8 = (query_param(path, EL_STR("q"))); } else { _if_result_8 = (json_get_string(body, EL_STR("query"))); } _if_result_8; });
+  if (str_eq(q, EL_STR(""))) {
+    return err_json(EL_STR("missing query"));
   }
+  el_val_t d_raw = ({ el_val_t _if_result_9 = 0; if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET"))) { _if_result_9 = (query_int(path, EL_STR("depth"), 3)); } else { _if_result_9 = (json_get_int(body, EL_STR("depth"))); } _if_result_9; });
+  el_val_t depth = ({ el_val_t _if_result_10 = 0; if ((d_raw > 0)) { _if_result_10 = (d_raw); } else { _if_result_10 = (3); } _if_result_10; });
   return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"results\":"), engram_activate_json(q, depth)), EL_STR("}"));
   return 0;
 }
@@ -202,15 +197,12 @@ el_val_t route_activate(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
 el_val_t route_create_edge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
   el_val_t from_id = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("from_id"));
   el_val_t to_id = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("to_id"));
-  el_val_t relation = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("relation"));
-  if (str_eq(relation, EL_STR(""))) {
-    relation = EL_STR("associates");
-  }
-  el_val_t weight = json_get_float(body, EL_STR("weight"));
-  if (weight == el_from_float(0.0)) {
-    weight = el_from_float(0.5);
-  }
+  el_val_t rel_raw = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("relation"));
+  el_val_t relation = ({ el_val_t _if_result_11 = 0; if (str_eq(rel_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_11 = (EL_STR("associates")); } else { _if_result_11 = (rel_raw); } _if_result_11; });
+  el_val_t w_raw = json_get_float(body, EL_STR("weight"));
+  el_val_t weight = ({ el_val_t _if_result_12 = 0; if ((w_raw == el_from_float(0.0))) { _if_result_12 = (el_from_float(0.5)); } else { _if_result_12 = (w_raw); } _if_result_12; });
   engram_connect(from_id, to_id, weight, relation);
+  el_val_t saved = persist_canonical();
   return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"from_id\":\""), from_id), EL_STR("\",\"to_id\":\"")), to_id), EL_STR("\",\"relation\":\"")), relation), EL_STR("\"}"));
   return 0;
 }
@@ -231,6 +223,7 @@ el_val_t route_strengthen(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
     return err_json(EL_STR("missing node_id"));
   }
   engram_strengthen(id);
+  el_val_t saved = persist_canonical();
   return ok_json();
   return 0;
 }
@@ -241,29 +234,40 @@ el_val_t route_forget(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
     return err_json(EL_STR("missing id"));
   }
   engram_forget(id);
+  el_val_t saved = persist_canonical();
   return ok_json();
   return 0;
 }
 
-el_val_t route_create_ise(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t content = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("content"));
-  if (str_eq(content, EL_STR(""))) {
-    return err_json(EL_STR("missing content"));
-  }
-  el_val_t sal = el_from_float(0.3);
-  el_val_t imp = el_from_float(0.3);
-  el_val_t conf = el_from_float(0.8);
-  el_val_t id = engram_node_full(content, EL_STR("InternalStateEvent"), EL_STR("state-event"), sal, imp, conf, EL_STR("Episodic"), EL_STR("[\"internal-state\",\"InternalStateEvent\"]"));
-  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\""), id), EL_STR("\"}"));
+el_val_t route_save(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
+  el_val_t p_raw = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("path"));
+  el_val_t dir_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
+  el_val_t dir = ({ el_val_t _if_result_13 = 0; if (str_eq(dir_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_13 = (EL_STR("/tmp/engram")); } else { _if_result_13 = (dir_raw); } _if_result_13; });
+  el_val_t p = ({ el_val_t _if_result_14 = 0; if (str_eq(p_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_14 = (el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json"))); } else { _if_result_14 = (p_raw); } _if_result_14; });
+  engram_save(p);
+  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"path\":\""), p), EL_STR("\"}"));
+  return 0;
+}
+
+el_val_t route_load(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
+  el_val_t p_raw = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("path"));
+  el_val_t dir_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
+  el_val_t dir = ({ el_val_t _if_result_15 = 0; if (str_eq(dir_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_15 = (EL_STR("/tmp/engram")); } else { _if_result_15 = (dir_raw); } _if_result_15; });
+  el_val_t p = ({ el_val_t _if_result_16 = 0; if (str_eq(p_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_16 = (el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json"))); } else { _if_result_16 = (p_raw); } _if_result_16; });
+  engram_load(p);
+  return ok_json();
+  return 0;
+}
+
+el_val_t route_health(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
+  return EL_STR("{\"status\":\"ok\",\"engine\":\"engram-runtime-native\"}");
   return 0;
 }
 
 el_val_t route_sync(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t dir = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
-  if (str_eq(dir, EL_STR(""))) {
-    dir = EL_STR("/tmp/engram");
-  }
-  el_val_t snap_path = el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/sync-export.json"));
+  el_val_t dir_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
+  el_val_t dir = ({ el_val_t _if_result_17 = 0; if (str_eq(dir_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_17 = (EL_STR("/tmp/engram")); } else { _if_result_17 = (dir_raw); } _if_result_17; });
+  el_val_t snap_path = el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/.sync-export.json"));
   engram_save(snap_path);
   el_val_t snap = fs_read(snap_path);
   if (str_eq(snap, EL_STR(""))) {
@@ -273,36 +277,68 @@ el_val_t route_sync(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
   return 0;
 }
 
-el_val_t route_save(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
+el_val_t route_load_merge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
   el_val_t p = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("path"));
   if (str_eq(p, EL_STR(""))) {
-    el_val_t dir = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
-    if (str_eq(dir, EL_STR(""))) {
-      dir = EL_STR("/tmp/engram");
-    }
-    p = el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json"));
+    return err_json(EL_STR("path is required"));
   }
-  engram_save(p);
-  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"path\":\""), p), EL_STR("\"}"));
+  if (str_eq(fs_read(p), EL_STR(""))) {
+    return err_json(EL_STR("file missing or empty"));
+  }
+  el_val_t before_n = engram_node_count();
+  el_val_t before_e = engram_edge_count();
+  engram_load_merge(p);
+  el_val_t added_n = (engram_node_count() - before_n);
+  el_val_t added_e = (engram_edge_count() - before_e);
+  el_val_t saved = persist_canonical();
+  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"nodes_added\":"), int_to_str(added_n)), EL_STR(",\"edges_added\":")), int_to_str(added_e)), EL_STR(",\"node_count\":")), int_to_str(engram_node_count())), EL_STR("}"));
   return 0;
 }
 
-el_val_t route_load(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t p = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("path"));
-  if (str_eq(p, EL_STR(""))) {
-    el_val_t dir = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
-    if (str_eq(dir, EL_STR(""))) {
-      dir = EL_STR("/tmp/engram");
-    }
-    p = el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json"));
+el_val_t route_emit_ise(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
+  el_val_t content = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("content"));
+  if (str_eq(content, EL_STR(""))) {
+    return err_json(EL_STR("missing content"));
   }
-  engram_load(p);
-  return ok_json();
+  el_val_t sal = el_from_float(0.3);
+  el_val_t imp = el_from_float(0.3);
+  el_val_t conf = el_from_float(0.8);
+  el_val_t id = engram_node_full(content, EL_STR("InternalStateEvent"), EL_STR("state-event"), sal, imp, conf, EL_STR("Episodic"), EL_STR("[\"internal-state\",\"InternalStateEvent\"]"));
+  el_val_t ret_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_ISE_RETENTION_MS"));
+  el_val_t ret_ms = ({ el_val_t _if_result_18 = 0; if (str_eq(ret_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_18 = (172800000); } else { _if_result_18 = (str_to_int(ret_raw)); } _if_result_18; });
+  el_val_t pruned = engram_prune_telemetry(ret_ms);
+  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\""), id), EL_STR("\",\"pruned\":")), int_to_str(pruned)), EL_STR("}"));
   return 0;
 }
 
-el_val_t route_health(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  return EL_STR("{\"status\":\"ok\",\"engine\":\"engram-runtime-native\"}");
+el_val_t route_capture_knowledge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
+  el_val_t content = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("content"));
+  if (str_eq(content, EL_STR(""))) {
+    return err_json(EL_STR("missing content"));
+  }
+  el_val_t title = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("title"));
+  el_val_t label = ({ el_val_t _if_result_19 = 0; if (str_eq(title, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_19 = (str_slice(content, 0, 60)); } else { _if_result_19 = (title); } _if_result_19; });
+  el_val_t category_raw = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("category"));
+  el_val_t category = ({ el_val_t _if_result_20 = 0; if (str_eq(category_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_20 = (EL_STR("other")); } else { _if_result_20 = (category_raw); } _if_result_20; });
+  el_val_t ktier_raw = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("tier"));
+  el_val_t ktier = ({ el_val_t _if_result_21 = 0; if (str_eq(ktier_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_21 = (EL_STR("note")); } else { _if_result_21 = (ktier_raw); } _if_result_21; });
+  el_val_t project = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("project"));
+  el_val_t tags_raw = json_get_raw(body, EL_STR("tags"));
+  el_val_t tags_base = ({ el_val_t _if_result_22 = 0; if (str_eq(tags_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_22 = (EL_STR("[]")); } else { _if_result_22 = (tags_raw); } _if_result_22; });
+  el_val_t base_len = str_len(tags_base);
+  el_val_t head = str_slice(tags_base, 0, (base_len - 1));
+  el_val_t sep = ({ el_val_t _if_result_23 = 0; if (str_eq(head, EL_STR("["))) { _if_result_23 = (EL_STR("")); } else { _if_result_23 = (EL_STR(",")); } _if_result_23; });
+  el_val_t safe_cat = str_replace(category, EL_STR("\""), EL_STR("'"));
+  el_val_t safe_tier = str_replace(ktier, EL_STR("\""), EL_STR("'"));
+  el_val_t safe_proj = str_replace(project, EL_STR("\""), EL_STR("'"));
+  el_val_t proj_tag = ({ el_val_t _if_result_24 = 0; if (str_eq(safe_proj, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_24 = (EL_STR("")); } else { _if_result_24 = (el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR(",\"project:"), safe_proj), EL_STR("\""))); } _if_result_24; });
+  el_val_t tags = el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(head, sep), EL_STR("\"category:")), safe_cat), EL_STR("\",\"tier:")), safe_tier), EL_STR("\"")), proj_tag), EL_STR("]"));
+  el_val_t sal = el_from_float(0.5);
+  el_val_t imp = el_from_float(0.5);
+  el_val_t conf = el_from_float(0.9);
+  el_val_t id = engram_node_full(content, EL_STR("Knowledge"), label, sal, imp, conf, EL_STR("Semantic"), tags);
+  el_val_t saved = persist_canonical();
+  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\""), id), EL_STR("\"}"));
   return 0;
 }
 
@@ -329,12 +365,15 @@ el_val_t handle_request(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
       return route_health(method, path, body);
     }
   }
-  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && str_starts_with(clean, EL_STR("/api/neuron/state-events"))) {
-    return route_create_ise(method, path, body);
+  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/neuron/state-events"))) {
+    return route_emit_ise(method, path, body);
   }
   if (!check_auth_ok(method, body)) {
     return err_json(EL_STR("unauthorized"));
   }
+  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/neuron/knowledge/capture"))) {
+    return route_capture_knowledge(method, path, body);
+  }
   if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET")) && (str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/stats")) || str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/stats")))) {
     return route_stats(method, path, body);
   }
@@ -374,32 +413,40 @@ el_val_t handle_request(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
   if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && (str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/strengthen")) || str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/strengthen")))) {
     return route_strengthen(method, path, body);
   }
-  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET")) && (str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/sync")) || str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/sync")))) {
-    return route_sync(method, path, body);
-  }
   if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && (str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/save")) || str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/save")))) {
     return route_save(method, path, body);
   }
   if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && (str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/load")) || str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/load")))) {
     return route_load(method, path, body);
   }
+  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && (str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/load-merge")) || str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/load-merge")))) {
+    return route_load_merge(method, path, body);
+  }
+  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET")) && str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/sync"))) {
+    return route_sync(method, path, body);
+  }
   return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"error\":\"not found\",\"path\":\""), clean), EL_STR("\"}"));
   return 0;
 }
 
 int main(int _argc, char** _argv) {
   el_runtime_init_args(_argc, _argv);
-  bind_str = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_BIND"));
-  if (str_eq(bind_str, EL_STR(""))) {
-    bind_str = EL_STR(":8742");
-  }
+  bind_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_BIND"));
+  bind_str = ({ el_val_t _if_result_25 = 0; if (str_eq(bind_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_25 = (EL_STR(":8742")); } else { _if_result_25 = (bind_raw); } _if_result_25; });
   port = parse_port(bind_str);
-  data_dir = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
-  if (str_eq(data_dir, EL_STR(""))) {
-    data_dir = EL_STR("/tmp/engram");
-  }
+  data_dir_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
+  data_dir = ({ el_val_t _if_result_26 = 0; if (str_eq(data_dir_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_26 = (EL_STR("/tmp/engram")); } else { _if_result_26 = (data_dir_raw); } _if_result_26; });
   snapshot_path = el_str_concat(data_dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json"));
   engram_load(snapshot_path);
+  boot_snap = fs_read(snapshot_path);
+  if (!str_eq(boot_snap, EL_STR(""))) {
+    if (engram_node_count() == 0) {
+      println(EL_STR("[engram] WARNING: snapshot.json is non-empty but load produced 0 nodes \xe2\x80\x94 preserving copy at snapshot.failed-load.json"));
+      fs_write(el_str_concat(data_dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.failed-load.json")), boot_snap);
+    } else {
+      fs_write(el_str_concat(data_dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.boot-backup.json")), boot_snap);
+    }
+  }
   println(EL_STR("[engram] runtime-native graph engine"));
   println(el_str_concat(EL_STR("[engram] data_dir="), data_dir));
   println(el_str_concat(EL_STR("[engram] node_count="), int_to_str(engram_node_count())));

engram/src/server.el

@@ -76,13 +76,43 @@ fn route_stats(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
     engram_stats_json()
 }
 
+// (2026-07-18 self-review) Scoping sweep: `let` inside an if-block creates an
+// inner scope only — it does NOT mutate the outer binding (documented with
+// evidence in awareness.el, 2026-05-25). Every default/reassignment below used
+// that broken pattern, so defaults never applied: nodes were created with
+// node_type="" and salience=0.0, /api/search and /api/activate ALWAYS ran with
+// q="" regardless of input, edges defaulted to relation=""/weight=0.0, and
+// save/load with no "path" hit engram_save(""). Rewritten to the
+// `let x = if cond { a } else { b }` expression form (the pattern the newer
+// routes route_emit_ise/route_capture_knowledge already use correctly).
+// persist_canonical — save the canonical snapshot after a durable write.
+//
+// WHY (2026-07-22 self-review): the 2026-07-21 fix correctly stopped READ
+// routes from writing the canonical snapshot.json — but nothing was left
+// that saved it on WRITE. Every mutation (node create, edge create,
+// knowledge capture, forget, merge) lived only in RAM until someone POSTed
+// /api/save manually; a process restart silently discarded everything since
+// the last manual save. Observed live: two engram restarts during the
+// 2026-07-22 review reverted the store to a ~17h-old snapshot, destroying
+// same-day writes. Reads must never write the canonical; writes must always
+// persist it. ISE telemetry is deliberately excluded (48h-pruned, loss-
+// tolerant, ~2/min — snapshotting the whole store per heartbeat is waste;
+// any durable write that follows persists the pruning too).
+fn persist_canonical() -> Int {
+    let dir_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
+    let dir: String = if str_eq(dir_raw, "") { "/tmp/engram" } else { dir_raw }
+    engram_save(dir + "/snapshot.json")
+    return 1
+}
+
 fn route_create_node(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
     let content: String = json_get_string(body, "content")
-    let node_type: String = json_get_string(body, "node_type")
-    if str_eq(node_type, "") { let node_type = "Memory" }
-    let salience: Float = json_get_float(body, "salience")
-    if salience == 0.0 { let salience = 0.5 }
+    let nt_raw: String = json_get_string(body, "node_type")
+    let node_type: String = if str_eq(nt_raw, "") { "Memory" } else { nt_raw }
+    let sal_raw: Float = json_get_float(body, "salience")
+    let salience: Float = if sal_raw == 0.0 { 0.5 } else { sal_raw }
     let id: String = engram_node(content, node_type, salience)
+    let saved: Int = persist_canonical()
     "{\"id\":\"" + id + "\",\"content\":\"" + content + "\",\"node_type\":\"" + node_type + "\"}"
 }
 
@@ -103,13 +133,14 @@ fn route_scan_nodes(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
 }
 
 // route_scan_edges — bulk export of all edges as a JSON array. Implemented
-// via engram_save → fs_read of the canonical on-disk snapshot, which the
-// runtime keeps in lockstep with the in-memory graph. Live against the
-// running graph, not a stale export.
+// via engram_save → fs_read of a SCRATCH export path. (2026-07-21 self-review:
+// previously this saved over the canonical snapshot.json on every GET — if the
+// process ever booted with a partial/empty store, the first read request
+// clobbered the good snapshot. Read routes must never write the canonical path.)
 fn route_scan_edges(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let dir: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
-    if str_eq(dir, "") { let dir = "/tmp/engram" }
-    let snap_path: String = dir + "/snapshot.json"
+    let dir_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
+    let dir: String = if str_eq(dir_raw, "") { "/tmp/engram" } else { dir_raw }
+    let snap_path: String = dir + "/.scan-export.json"
     engram_save(snap_path)
     let snap: String = fs_read(snap_path)
     if str_eq(snap, "") { return "[]" }
@@ -122,40 +153,34 @@ fn route_scan_edges(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
 }
 
 fn route_search(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let q: String = ""
-    if str_eq(method, "GET") {
-        let q = query_param(path, "q")
-    } else {
-        let q = json_get_string(body, "query")
-    }
-    let limit: Int = query_int(path, "limit", 20)
-    if limit == 0 { let limit = json_get_int(body, "limit") }
-    if limit == 0 { let limit = 20 }
+    let q: String = if str_eq(method, "GET") { query_param(path, "q") } else { json_get_string(body, "query") }
+    let lim_url: Int = query_int(path, "limit", 0)
+    let lim_body: Int = json_get_int(body, "limit")
+    let lim_either: Int = if lim_url > 0 { lim_url } else { lim_body }
+    let limit: Int = if lim_either > 0 { lim_either } else { 20 }
     return engram_search_json(q, limit)
 }
 
 fn route_activate(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let q: String = ""
-    let depth: Int = 3
-    if str_eq(method, "GET") {
-        let q = query_param(path, "q")
-        let depth = query_int(path, "depth", 3)
-    } else {
-        let q = json_get_string(body, "query")
-        let bd: Int = json_get_int(body, "depth")
-        if bd > 0 { let depth = bd }
-    }
+    let q: String = if str_eq(method, "GET") { query_param(path, "q") } else { json_get_string(body, "query") }
+    // Guard: engram_activate with an empty query matches zero seeds, which
+    // zeroes ALL carried working-memory weights (documented in awareness.el
+    // perceive()). Never let an empty activation through to wipe WM.
+    if str_eq(q, "") { return err_json("missing query") }
+    let d_raw: Int = if str_eq(method, "GET") { query_int(path, "depth", 3) } else { json_get_int(body, "depth") }
+    let depth: Int = if d_raw > 0 { d_raw } else { 3 }
     return "{\"results\":" + engram_activate_json(q, depth) + "}"
 }
 
 fn route_create_edge(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
     let from_id: String = json_get_string(body, "from_id")
     let to_id: String = json_get_string(body, "to_id")
-    let relation: String = json_get_string(body, "relation")
-    if str_eq(relation, "") { let relation = "associates" }
-    let weight: Float = json_get_float(body, "weight")
-    if weight == 0.0 { let weight = 0.5 }
+    let rel_raw: String = json_get_string(body, "relation")
+    let relation: String = if str_eq(rel_raw, "") { "associates" } else { rel_raw }
+    let w_raw: Float = json_get_float(body, "weight")
+    let weight: Float = if w_raw == 0.0 { 0.5 } else { w_raw }
     engram_connect(from_id, to_id, weight, relation)
+    let saved: Int = persist_canonical()
     "{\"ok\":true,\"from_id\":\"" + from_id + "\",\"to_id\":\"" + to_id + "\",\"relation\":\"" + relation + "\"}"
 }
 
@@ -170,6 +195,7 @@ fn route_strengthen(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
     let id: String = json_get_string(body, "node_id")
     if str_eq(id, "") { return err_json("missing node_id") }
     engram_strengthen(id)
+    let saved: Int = persist_canonical()
     ok_json()
 }
 
@@ -177,27 +203,24 @@ fn route_forget(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
     let id: String = extract_id(path, "/api/nodes/")
     if str_eq(id, "") { return err_json("missing id") }
     engram_forget(id)
+    let saved: Int = persist_canonical()
     ok_json()
 }
 
 fn route_save(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let p: String = json_get_string(body, "path")
-    if str_eq(p, "") {
-        let dir: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
-        if str_eq(dir, "") { let dir = "/tmp/engram" }
-        let p = dir + "/snapshot.json"
-    }
+    let p_raw: String = json_get_string(body, "path")
+    let dir_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
+    let dir: String = if str_eq(dir_raw, "") { "/tmp/engram" } else { dir_raw }
+    let p: String = if str_eq(p_raw, "") { dir + "/snapshot.json" } else { p_raw }
     engram_save(p)
     "{\"ok\":true,\"path\":\"" + p + "\"}"
 }
 
 fn route_load(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let p: String = json_get_string(body, "path")
-    if str_eq(p, "") {
-        let dir: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
-        if str_eq(dir, "") { let dir = "/tmp/engram" }
-        let p = dir + "/snapshot.json"
-    }
+    let p_raw: String = json_get_string(body, "path")
+    let dir_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
+    let dir: String = if str_eq(dir_raw, "") { "/tmp/engram" } else { dir_raw }
+    let p: String = if str_eq(p_raw, "") { dir + "/snapshot.json" } else { p_raw }
     engram_load(p)
     ok_json()
 }
@@ -219,15 +242,36 @@ fn route_health(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
 // (it skips nodes already present by ID). Auth-exempt: same-host internal call.
 // (2026-06-27 self-review: added this route to fix silent 10-min sync failures)
 fn route_sync(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let dir: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
-    if str_eq(dir, "") { let dir = "/tmp/engram" }
-    let snap_path: String = dir + "/snapshot.json"
+    let dir_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
+    let dir: String = if str_eq(dir_raw, "") { "/tmp/engram" } else { dir_raw }
+    // 2026-07-21 self-review: export to a scratch path, never the canonical
+    // snapshot.json — read routes must not be able to clobber the good snapshot.
+    let snap_path: String = dir + "/.sync-export.json"
     engram_save(snap_path)
     let snap: String = fs_read(snap_path)
     if str_eq(snap, "") { return "{\"nodes\":[],\"edges\":[]}" }
     return snap
 }
 
+// route_load_merge — POST /api/load-merge {"path": "..."} — merge a snapshot
+// file into the live store WITHOUT resetting it (engram_load_merge skips nodes
+// already present by id). Added 2026-07-21 self-review to restore the 244 kn-
+// identity Knowledge nodes lost from the snapshot lineage between 05-13 and
+// 07-13. Requires an explicit path: refuses to run without one so it can never
+// be triggered accidentally against a default.
+fn route_load_merge(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
+    let p: String = json_get_string(body, "path")
+    if str_eq(p, "") { return err_json("path is required") }
+    if str_eq(fs_read(p), "") { return err_json("file missing or empty") }
+    let before_n: Int = engram_node_count()
+    let before_e: Int = engram_edge_count()
+    engram_load_merge(p)
+    let added_n: Int = engram_node_count() - before_n
+    let added_e: Int = engram_edge_count() - before_e
+    let saved: Int = persist_canonical()
+    "{\"ok\":true,\"nodes_added\":" + int_to_str(added_n) + ",\"edges_added\":" + int_to_str(added_e) + ",\"node_count\":" + int_to_str(engram_node_count()) + "}"
+}
+
 // route_emit_ise — write an InternalStateEvent node from the soul daemon.
 //
 // Endpoint: POST /api/neuron/state-events
@@ -241,10 +285,20 @@ fn route_sync(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
 //
 // Salience/importance set to match engram_node_full ISE defaults used by the
 // in-process fallback path in awareness.el (salience=0.3, importance=0.3,
-// confidence=0.8, tier=Episodic). High temporal_decay_rate (1.617) — ISEs
-// are inherently transient; they should decay faster than structural knowledge.
+// confidence=0.8, tier=Episodic).
 // (2026-06-26 self-review: added this route after discovering ise_post was
 // silently failing — the soul posts here but the endpoint didn't exist.)
+//
+// Retention (2026-07-16 self-review): an earlier comment here claimed ISEs
+// got temporal_decay_rate=1.617 — that was never implemented (engram_node_full
+// hardcodes 0.0), and per-node decay only dampens activation anyway; it never
+// removes nodes. By 2026-07-16 ISEs were 75% of the store (10,175 of 13,522
+// nodes, ~4,300/day, unbounded). ISEs are already WM-excluded in
+// engram_activate, so the fix is retention, not decay: every insert calls
+// engram_prune_telemetry(), a single O(nodes+edges) compaction pass that
+// removes ISEs older than ENGRAM_ISE_RETENTION_MS (default 48h), protecting
+// "session-start" labels and self_review events as durable history. At
+// ~3 ISEs/min this bounds telemetry at ~8.6k nodes instead of growing forever.
 fn route_emit_ise(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
     let content: String = json_get_string(body, "content")
     if str_eq(content, "") { return err_json("missing content") }
@@ -256,6 +310,64 @@ fn route_emit_ise(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
         sal, imp, conf,
         "Episodic", "[\"internal-state\",\"InternalStateEvent\"]"
     )
+    let ret_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_ISE_RETENTION_MS")
+    let ret_ms: Int = if str_eq(ret_raw, "") { 172800000 } else { str_to_int(ret_raw) }
+    let pruned: Int = engram_prune_telemetry(ret_ms)
+    "{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\"" + id + "\",\"pruned\":" + int_to_str(pruned) + "}"
+}
+
+// ── Knowledge capture ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+//
+// route_capture_knowledge — direct Knowledge-node capture over HTTP.
+//
+// Endpoint: POST /api/neuron/knowledge/capture   (auth required: "_auth" in body)
+// Body:     {"content": "...", "title": "...", "category": "...",
+//            "tier": "note|lesson|canonical", "tags": [...], "project": "...",
+//            "_auth": "<key>"}
+//
+// WHY (2026-07-15 self-review): the world-ingestor integrator was designed
+// against this endpoint (its MCP-unavailable fallback), but the route never
+// existed — every direct push 404'd, and because the auth gate ran before
+// routing, the failure surfaced as {"error":"unauthorized"} and was
+// misdiagnosed for two weeks while world knowledge silently dropped.
+// POST /api/nodes was no substitute: it discards label/tags/tier, which
+// makes captured knowledge invisible to tag-scoped search and curiosity.
+//
+// The incoming knowledge tier (note/lesson/canonical) is preserved as a
+// "tier:<x>" tag rather than mapped onto Engram's cognitive tiers — Knowledge
+// nodes land in Semantic (stable reference), and the epistemic tier stays
+// queryable without inventing a lossy mapping.
+fn route_capture_knowledge(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
+    let content: String = json_get_string(body, "content")
+    if str_eq(content, "") { return err_json("missing content") }
+    let title: String = json_get_string(body, "title")
+    let label: String = if str_eq(title, "") { str_slice(content, 0, 60) } else { title }
+    let category_raw: String = json_get_string(body, "category")
+    let category: String = if str_eq(category_raw, "") { "other" } else { category_raw }
+    let ktier_raw: String = json_get_string(body, "tier")
+    let ktier: String = if str_eq(ktier_raw, "") { "note" } else { ktier_raw }
+    let project: String = json_get_string(body, "project")
+    let tags_raw: String = json_get_raw(body, "tags")
+    let tags_base: String = if str_eq(tags_raw, "") { "[]" } else { tags_raw }
+    // Merge category/tier/project markers into the tag array. Search matches
+    // against the tags string, so these make captures findable by facet.
+    let base_len: Int = str_len(tags_base)
+    let head: String = str_slice(tags_base, 0, base_len - 1)
+    let sep: String = if str_eq(head, "[") { "" } else { "," }
+    let safe_cat: String = str_replace(category, "\"", "'")
+    let safe_tier: String = str_replace(ktier, "\"", "'")
+    let safe_proj: String = str_replace(project, "\"", "'")
+    let proj_tag: String = if str_eq(safe_proj, "") { "" } else { ",\"project:" + safe_proj + "\"" }
+    let tags: String = head + sep + "\"category:" + safe_cat + "\",\"tier:" + safe_tier + "\"" + proj_tag + "]"
+    let sal: Float = 0.5
+    let imp: Float = 0.5
+    let conf: Float = 0.9
+    let id: String = engram_node_full(
+        content, "Knowledge", label,
+        sal, imp, conf,
+        "Semantic", tags
+    )
+    let saved: Int = persist_canonical()
     "{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\"" + id + "\"}"
 }
 
@@ -295,6 +407,12 @@ fn handle_request(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
         return err_json("unauthorized")
     }
 
+    // Knowledge capture (auth enforced above; the world-ingestor integrator
+    // and any headless session without MCP push knowledge through this)
+    if str_eq(method, "POST") && str_eq(clean, "/api/neuron/knowledge/capture") {
+        return route_capture_knowledge(method, path, body)
+    }
+
     // Stats
     if str_eq(method, "GET") && (str_eq(clean, "/api/stats") || str_eq(clean, "/stats")) {
         return route_stats(method, path, body)
@@ -351,6 +469,9 @@ fn handle_request(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
     if str_eq(method, "POST") && (str_eq(clean, "/api/load") || str_eq(clean, "/load")) {
         return route_load(method, path, body)
     }
+    if str_eq(method, "POST") && (str_eq(clean, "/api/load-merge") || str_eq(clean, "/load-merge")) {
+        return route_load_merge(method, path, body)
+    }
 
     // Sync — soul daemon periodic pull of non-ISE knowledge into in-process graph
     if str_eq(method, "GET") && str_eq(clean, "/api/sync") {
@@ -362,16 +483,31 @@ fn handle_request(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
 
 // ── Entry ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-let bind_str: String = env("ENGRAM_BIND")
-if str_eq(bind_str, "") { let bind_str = ":8742" }
+let bind_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_BIND")
+let bind_str: String = if str_eq(bind_raw, "") { ":8742" } else { bind_raw }
 let port: Int = parse_port(bind_str)
 
 // On startup, try to load any existing snapshot (best effort).
-let data_dir: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
-if str_eq(data_dir, "") { let data_dir = "/tmp/engram" }
+let data_dir_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
+let data_dir: String = if str_eq(data_dir_raw, "") { "/tmp/engram" } else { data_dir_raw }
 let snapshot_path: String = data_dir + "/snapshot.json"
 engram_load(snapshot_path)
 
+// 2026-07-21 self-review boot guard: if the snapshot file has content but the
+// load produced 0 nodes, something is wrong (corrupt file / parse failure).
+// Preserve the evidence and warn loudly — and since read routes no longer write
+// the canonical path, a bad boot can no longer clobber the good snapshot.
+let boot_snap: String = fs_read(snapshot_path)
+if !str_eq(boot_snap, "") {
+    if engram_node_count() == 0 {
+        println("[engram] WARNING: snapshot.json is non-empty but load produced 0 nodes — preserving copy at snapshot.failed-load.json")
+        fs_write(data_dir + "/snapshot.failed-load.json", boot_snap)
+    } else {
+        // Good load: keep a boot-time backup of the snapshot as loaded.
+        fs_write(data_dir + "/snapshot.boot-backup.json", boot_snap)
+    }
+}
+
 println("[engram] runtime-native graph engine")
 println("[engram] data_dir=" + data_dir)
 println("[engram] node_count=" + int_to_str(engram_node_count()))

epm/src/install.el

@@ -17,6 +17,16 @@
 //   4. Append dep to order after all its transitive deps
 //   5. Deduplicate: skip already-ordered vessels
 
+// ── Cross-module forward declarations ─────────────────────────────────────────
+// Defined in sibling epm modules; resolved at link time. The `extern fn` decls
+// give elc the C prototypes so generated install.c compiles cleanly under strict
+// compilers (gcc>=14 / clang) that reject implicit function declarations.
+extern fn manifest_name(src: String) -> String                        // manifest.el
+extern fn manifest_deps(src: String) -> String                        // manifest.el
+extern fn registry_token() -> String                                  // registry.el
+extern fn registry_find(name: String, version: String) -> String     // registry.el
+extern fn registry_latest_version(name: String) -> String            // registry.el
+
 // ── Install paths ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 // packages_dir returns the root directory for installed vessels.

epm/src/registry.el

@@ -14,6 +14,15 @@
 //   EPM_REGISTRY_ORG — org name that hosts vessel repos (default: neuron-technologies)
 //   EPM_TOKEN      — Gitea personal access token (required for publish)
 
+// ── Cross-module forward declarations ─────────────────────────────────────────
+// These symbols are defined in sibling epm modules or the El runtime and are
+// resolved at link time. The `extern fn` decls give elc the C prototype so the
+// generated registry.c compiles cleanly under strict compilers (gcc>=14 / clang)
+// that reject implicit function declarations. Signature arity must match the
+// definition; return/param types are informational (all lower to el_val_t).
+extern fn config(key: String) -> String          // El runtime builtin
+extern fn read_installed() -> String              // install.el
+
 // ── Config helpers ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 // registry_api_url returns the Gitea API base URL with no trailing slash.

epm/src/update.el

@@ -6,6 +6,15 @@
 // Depends on: registry.el (registry_latest_version, registry_find),
 //             install.el  (read_installed, install_vessel, installed_version)
 
+// ── Cross-module forward declarations ─────────────────────────────────────────
+// Defined in sibling epm modules; resolved at link time. The `extern fn` decls
+// give elc the C prototypes so generated update.c compiles cleanly under strict
+// compilers (gcc>=14 / clang) that reject implicit function declarations.
+extern fn read_installed() -> String                                  // install.el
+extern fn installed_version(name: String) -> String                   // install.el
+extern fn install_vessel(name: String, version: String) -> Bool      // install.el
+extern fn registry_latest_version(name: String) -> String            // registry.el
+
 // ── Semver helpers ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 // semver_part extracts the Nth dot-separated component from a semver string.

lang/el-compiler/runtime/el_runtime.c

@@ -82,8 +82,14 @@ static _Thread_local ElArena _tl_arena = {NULL, 0, 0};
 static _Thread_local int     _tl_arena_active = 0;
 
 /* Binary-safe fs_read length — set by fs_read, consumed by http_send_response.
- * Allows serving PNGs and other binary files without strlen truncation. */
-static _Thread_local size_t  _tl_fs_read_len  = 0;
+ * Allows serving PNGs and other binary files without strlen truncation.
+ * PAIRED with the buffer pointer it describes: the length may only be applied
+ * to the exact buffer fs_read returned. Without the pairing, any handler that
+ * fs_read a file and then WRAPPED it into a larger response had that response
+ * truncated to the file's length (Content-Length lied AND the send stopped
+ * short) — the safety-contact onboarding trap, 2026-07-17. */
+static _Thread_local size_t      _tl_fs_read_len  = 0;
+static _Thread_local const char* _tl_fs_read_buf  = NULL;
 
 static void el_arena_track(char* p) {
     if (!_tl_arena_active || !p) return;
@@ -101,6 +107,8 @@ static void el_arena_track(char* p) {
 void el_request_start(void) {
     _tl_arena.count  = 0;
     _tl_arena_active = 1;
+    _tl_fs_read_len  = 0;     /* never let a previous request's file length */
+    _tl_fs_read_buf  = NULL;  /* leak into this response's byte accounting  */
 }
 
 /* Called by http_worker after the El handler returns and the response is sent.
@@ -1484,11 +1492,14 @@ static void http_send_response(int fd, const char* body) {
     }
 
     const char* eff_body = is_envelope ? env_body : body;
-    /* Use the real byte count from fs_read if available (handles binary files
-     * with embedded null bytes — PNG, WOFF2, etc.). Fall back to strlen for
-     * normal text/JSON responses where _tl_fs_read_len is 0. */
-    size_t blen = (_tl_fs_read_len > 0) ? _tl_fs_read_len : strlen(eff_body);
+    /* Use the real byte count from fs_read ONLY when this body IS the exact
+     * buffer fs_read returned (binary files with embedded null bytes — PNG,
+     * WOFF2, etc.). Any other body — wrapped, enveloped, or derived — must be
+     * measured with strlen, or it is truncated/over-read to the file's size. */
+    size_t blen = (_tl_fs_read_len > 0 && eff_body == _tl_fs_read_buf)
+                      ? _tl_fs_read_len : strlen(eff_body);
     _tl_fs_read_len = 0;  /* consume — one-shot per response */
+    _tl_fs_read_buf = NULL;
     int head_only = _tl_http_head_only;
 
     JsonBuf hdrs; jb_init(&hdrs);
@@ -1568,11 +1579,22 @@ static void* http_worker(void* arg) {
             const char* rs = EL_CSTR(r);
             /* Copy response out BEFORE arena teardown.
              * For binary files, _tl_fs_read_len holds the real byte count —
-             * use memcpy instead of strdup so null bytes are preserved. */
-            size_t rlen = _tl_fs_read_len > 0 ? _tl_fs_read_len : (rs ? strlen(rs) : 0);
+             * use memcpy instead of strdup so null bytes are preserved.
+             * The stored length applies ONLY when the response IS the exact
+             * fs_read buffer; a wrapped/derived response must use strlen or
+             * it gets truncated (or over-read) to the file's length. */
+            size_t rlen;
+            if (_tl_fs_read_len > 0 && rs && rs == _tl_fs_read_buf) {
+                rlen = _tl_fs_read_len;   /* raw file bytes — binary-safe */
+            } else {
+                rlen = rs ? strlen(rs) : 0;
+                _tl_fs_read_len = 0;      /* hint doesn't describe this body */
+                _tl_fs_read_buf = NULL;
+            }
             response = malloc(rlen + 1);
             if (response && rs) { memcpy(response, rs, rlen); response[rlen] = '\0'; }
             else if (response) { response[0] = '\0'; }
+            if (_tl_fs_read_len > 0) _tl_fs_read_buf = response; /* hint follows the copy */
         } else {
             response = el_strdup_persist("el-runtime: no http handler registered");
         }
@@ -1822,10 +1844,20 @@ static void* http_worker_v2(void* arg) {
             el_val_t hmap = http_build_headers_map(hdr_block ? hdr_block : "");
             el_val_t r = h(EL_STR(dispatch_method), EL_STR(path), hmap, EL_STR(body));
             const char* rs = EL_CSTR(r);
-            size_t rlen = _tl_fs_read_len > 0 ? _tl_fs_read_len : (rs ? strlen(rs) : 0);
+            /* Same pairing rule as the v1 worker: the fs_read length is only
+             * trustworthy for the exact buffer fs_read returned. */
+            size_t rlen;
+            if (_tl_fs_read_len > 0 && rs && rs == _tl_fs_read_buf) {
+                rlen = _tl_fs_read_len;   /* raw file bytes — binary-safe */
+            } else {
+                rlen = rs ? strlen(rs) : 0;
+                _tl_fs_read_len = 0;      /* hint doesn't describe this body */
+                _tl_fs_read_buf = NULL;
+            }
             response = malloc(rlen + 1);
             if (response && rs) { memcpy(response, rs, rlen); response[rlen] = '\0'; }
             else if (response) { response[0] = '\0'; }
+            if (_tl_fs_read_len > 0) _tl_fs_read_buf = response; /* hint follows the copy */
             el_release(hmap);
         } else {
             response = el_strdup_persist(
@@ -2024,6 +2056,7 @@ el_val_t http_response(el_val_t status, el_val_t headers_json, el_val_t body) {
 el_val_t fs_read(el_val_t pathv) {
     const char* path = EL_CSTR(pathv);
     _tl_fs_read_len = 0;
+    _tl_fs_read_buf = NULL;
     if (!path) return el_wrap_str(el_strdup(""));
     FILE* f = fopen(path, "rb");
     if (!f) return el_wrap_str(el_strdup(""));
@@ -2035,6 +2068,7 @@ el_val_t fs_read(el_val_t pathv) {
     size_t got = fread(buf, 1, (size_t)sz, f);
     buf[got] = '\0';
     _tl_fs_read_len = got;   /* store real byte count for binary-safe send */
+    _tl_fs_read_buf = buf;   /* ...valid ONLY for this exact buffer */
     fclose(f);
     return el_wrap_str(buf);
 }
@@ -3577,8 +3611,10 @@ el_val_t json_get_raw(el_val_t json_str, el_val_t key) {
     const char* k    = EL_CSTR(key);
     const char* p = json_find_key(json, k);
     /* Clear fs_read binary-length hint — result is a fresh null-terminated
-     * string, not the raw file bytes, so Content-Length must use strlen. */
+     * string, not the raw file bytes, so Content-Length must use strlen.
+     * (Kept although the pointer pairing now makes this redundant.) */
     _tl_fs_read_len = 0;
+    _tl_fs_read_buf = NULL;
     if (!p) return el_wrap_str(el_strdup(""));
     const char* end = json_skip_value(p);
     size_t n = (size_t)(end - p);
@@ -6827,6 +6863,312 @@ static int istr_contains(const char* hay, const char* needle) {
     return 0;
 }
 
+/* ── Tokenized query matching ───────────────────────────────────────────
+ * The engram query surface (search / activate / goal-bias) historically
+ * matched the ENTIRE raw query string as a single case-insensitive
+ * substring via istr_contains(field, q). That is Ctrl-F, not search:
+ * a multi-word query like "windows msi signing" only matched a node whose
+ * text contained that exact contiguous run, so real multi-word queries
+ * returned zero. istr_contains stays as the per-TOKEN primitive; these
+ * helpers split the query on whitespace and match ANY token, then rank by
+ * how many DISTINCT tokens a node covers. Single-token queries are a strict
+ * special case (score is 0 or 1) so single-word callers never regress. */
+#define ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS 32
+#define ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN    256
+
+/* Split q on whitespace into up to ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS distinct
+ * (case-insensitive) tokens. Returns the token count. Over-long tokens are
+ * truncated to ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN-1; over-count tokens are ignored. */
+static int engram_tokenize_query(const char* q,
+                                 char toks[][ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN], int maxtok) {
+    int n = 0;
+    if (!q) return 0;
+    const char* p = q;
+    while (*p && n < maxtok) {
+        while (*p && isspace((unsigned char)*p)) p++;
+        if (!*p) break;
+        char buf[ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN];
+        size_t tl = 0;
+        while (*p && !isspace((unsigned char)*p)) {
+            if (tl < sizeof(buf) - 1) buf[tl++] = *p;
+            p++;
+        }
+        buf[tl] = '\0';
+        if (tl == 0) continue;
+        int dup = 0;
+        for (int s = 0; s < n; s++) {
+            if (strcasecmp(toks[s], buf) == 0) { dup = 1; break; }
+        }
+        if (dup) continue;
+        memcpy(toks[n], buf, tl + 1);
+        n++;
+    }
+    return n;
+}
+
+/* Count how many of the ntok distinct query tokens appear (case-insensitive)
+ * in the node's content, label, or tags. 0 == no match. */
+static int engram_node_match_score(const EngramNode* n,
+                                   char toks[][ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN], int ntok) {
+    int score = 0;
+    for (int t = 0; t < ntok; t++) {
+        if (istr_contains(n->content, toks[t]) ||
+            istr_contains(n->label,   toks[t]) ||
+            istr_contains(n->tags,    toks[t]))
+            score++;
+    }
+    return score;
+}
+
+/* Rank entry: distinct-token match count (primary, desc) then salience
+ * (tiebreak, desc). */
+typedef struct { int64_t idx; int score; double salience; } EngramRankEntry;
+static int engram_rank_cmp(const void* a, const void* b) {
+    const EngramRankEntry* ea = (const EngramRankEntry*)a;
+    const EngramRankEntry* eb = (const EngramRankEntry*)b;
+    if (ea->score != eb->score) return eb->score - ea->score;      /* desc */
+    if (ea->salience < eb->salience) return 1;
+    if (ea->salience > eb->salience) return -1;
+    return 0;
+}
+
+/* ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
+ * SEMANTIC SEARCH LAYER — nomic-embed-text via Ollama /api/embeddings
+ * ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+ * Augments the lexical (istr_contains) matcher with dense-vector retrieval.
+ * Node content and the query are embedded through a local Ollama server;
+ * nodes are ranked by cosine similarity and UNIONED with lexical hits. This
+ * lets a paraphrase query surface a node whose words never appear in it.
+ *
+ * DEGRADABLE BY DESIGN. The whole layer is gated on HAVE_CURL plus a one-shot
+ * runtime probe of the embedding endpoint. If curl is not compiled in, or
+ * Ollama is unreachable, or ENGRAM_SEMANTIC=0, every entry point returns
+ * "no semantic signal" and callers fall back to pure lexical behaviour —
+ * byte-for-byte the pre-existing search.
+ *
+ * CACHE. Node embeddings are computed lazily on first use and cached in
+ * process memory keyed by node id, with an FNV-1a content hash for
+ * invalidation (edited content re-embeds). The query is embedded once per
+ * search call. This is what "avoid re-embedding the whole graph every query"
+ * buys us: a warm cache serves cosine from RAM. (A cold process still pays
+ * O(N) embed calls the first time each node is scanned — persisting the cache
+ * to a snapshot sidecar is the documented next step, not done here.)
+ *
+ * nomic task prefixes ("search_query:" / "search_document:") are applied
+ * because nomic-embed-text is trained with them; they materially improve
+ * retrieval separation (empirically: paraphrase 0.72 vs distractors <0.48).
+ *
+ * ENV:
+ *   ENGRAM_SEMANTIC       "0" disables; unset/other = auto-probe
+ *   ENGRAM_EMBED_URL      default http://localhost:11434/api/embeddings
+ *   ENGRAM_EMBED_MODEL    default nomic-embed-text
+ *   ENGRAM_SEMANTIC_MIN   cosine threshold for a pure-semantic match (def 0.6)
+ * ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ */
+
+static double engram_semantic_min(void) {
+    static double v = -1.0;
+    if (v >= 0.0) return v;
+    const char* s = getenv("ENGRAM_SEMANTIC_MIN");
+    double d = 0.6;
+    if (s && *s) { char* e = NULL; double t = strtod(s, &e);
+                   if (e != s && t >= 0.0 && t <= 1.0) d = t; }
+    v = d; return v;
+}
+
+#ifdef HAVE_CURL
+
+typedef struct { char* id; uint64_t hash; float* vec; int dim; } EngramEmbEntry;
+static EngramEmbEntry* g_emb_items = NULL;
+static int64_t g_emb_count = 0, g_emb_cap = 0;
+static int g_emb_state = 0;   /* 0=unprobed, 1=available, -1=disabled */
+
+static uint64_t engram_fnv1a(const char* s) {
+    uint64_t h = 1469598103934665603ULL;
+    if (s) for (const unsigned char* p = (const unsigned char*)s; *p; p++) {
+        h ^= *p; h *= 1099511628211ULL;
+    }
+    return h;
+}
+
+/* Parse "embedding":[f,f,...] from an Ollama response. malloc'd vec, or NULL. */
+static float* engram_parse_embedding(const char* json, int* out_dim) {
+    if (!json) return NULL;
+    const char* p = strstr(json, "\"embedding\"");
+    if (!p) return NULL;
+    p = strchr(p, '[');
+    if (!p) return NULL;
+    p++;
+    int cap = 1024, n = 0;
+    float* v = malloc((size_t)cap * sizeof(float));
+    if (!v) return NULL;
+    while (*p && *p != ']') {
+        while (*p == ' ' || *p == '\t' || *p == '\n' || *p == '\r' || *p == ',') p++;
+        if (*p == ']' || !*p) break;
+        char* e = NULL;
+        double d = strtod(p, &e);
+        if (e == p) break;
+        if (n >= cap) { cap *= 2; float* nv = realloc(v, (size_t)cap * sizeof(float));
+                        if (!nv) { free(v); return NULL; } v = nv; }
+        v[n++] = (float)d;
+        p = e;
+    }
+    if (n == 0) { free(v); return NULL; }
+    *out_dim = n;
+    return v;
+}
+
+/* JSON-escape src into a malloc'd buffer (no surrounding quotes). */
+static char* engram_json_escape(const char* src) {
+    if (!src) src = "";
+    size_t n = strlen(src);
+    char* out = malloc(n * 2 + 1);
+    if (!out) return NULL;
+    size_t j = 0;
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < n; i++) {
+        unsigned char c = (unsigned char)src[i];
+        if      (c == '"')  { out[j++] = '\\'; out[j++] = '"'; }
+        else if (c == '\\') { out[j++] = '\\'; out[j++] = '\\'; }
+        else if (c == '\n') { out[j++] = '\\'; out[j++] = 'n'; }
+        else if (c == '\r') { out[j++] = '\\'; out[j++] = 'r'; }
+        else if (c == '\t') { out[j++] = '\\'; out[j++] = 't'; }
+        else if (c < 0x20)  { /* drop other control bytes */ }
+        else                { out[j++] = (char)c; }
+    }
+    out[j] = '\0';
+    return out;
+}
+
+/* Embed `prefix+text` via Ollama. Returns malloc'd vec (caller frees), or NULL. */
+static float* engram_embed_raw(const char* prefix, const char* text, int* out_dim) {
+    if (!text) return NULL;
+    const char* url = getenv("ENGRAM_EMBED_URL");
+    if (!url || !*url) url = "http://localhost:11434/api/embeddings";
+    const char* model = getenv("ENGRAM_EMBED_MODEL");
+    if (!model || !*model) model = "nomic-embed-text";
+    /* Bound content length to keep latency/memory sane on huge nodes. */
+    char* trunc = NULL;
+    size_t maxlen = 8192;
+    if (strlen(text) > maxlen) {
+        trunc = malloc(maxlen + 1);
+        if (trunc) { memcpy(trunc, text, maxlen); trunc[maxlen] = '\0'; text = trunc; }
+    }
+    char* esc_prefix = engram_json_escape(prefix ? prefix : "");
+    char* esc = engram_json_escape(text);
+    free(trunc);
+    if (!esc || !esc_prefix) { free(esc); free(esc_prefix); return NULL; }
+    size_t blen = strlen(esc) + strlen(esc_prefix) + strlen(model) + 64;
+    char* body = malloc(blen);
+    if (!body) { free(esc); free(esc_prefix); return NULL; }
+    snprintf(body, blen, "{\"model\":\"%s\",\"prompt\":\"%s%s\"}", model, esc_prefix, esc);
+    free(esc); free(esc_prefix);
+
+    CURL* c = curl_easy_init();
+    if (!c) { free(body); return NULL; }
+    HttpBuf rb; httpbuf_init(&rb);
+    struct curl_slist* h = curl_slist_append(NULL, "Content-Type: application/json");
+    char errbuf[CURL_ERROR_SIZE]; errbuf[0] = '\0';
+    curl_easy_setopt(c, CURLOPT_URL, url);
+    curl_easy_setopt(c, CURLOPT_WRITEFUNCTION, http_write_cb);
+    curl_easy_setopt(c, CURLOPT_WRITEDATA, &rb);
+    curl_easy_setopt(c, CURLOPT_POST, 1L);
+    curl_easy_setopt(c, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, body);
+    curl_easy_setopt(c, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDSIZE, (long)strlen(body));
+    curl_easy_setopt(c, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, h);
+    curl_easy_setopt(c, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT_MS, el_http_timeout_ms());
+    curl_easy_setopt(c, CURLOPT_NOSIGNAL, 1L);
+    curl_easy_setopt(c, CURLOPT_ERRORBUFFER, errbuf);
+    CURLcode rc = curl_easy_perform(c);
+    curl_slist_free_all(h);
+    curl_easy_cleanup(c);
+    free(body);
+    if (rc != CURLE_OK) { free(rb.data); return NULL; }
+    float* v = engram_parse_embedding(rb.data, out_dim);
+    free(rb.data);
+    return v;
+}
+
+/* One-shot probe: is semantic search available? Caches the verdict. */
+static int engram_semantic_enabled(void) {
+    if (g_emb_state != 0) return g_emb_state == 1;
+    const char* s = getenv("ENGRAM_SEMANTIC");
+    if (s && strcmp(s, "0") == 0) { g_emb_state = -1; return 0; }
+    int dim = 0;
+    float* v = engram_embed_raw("search_query: ", "probe", &dim);
+    if (v && dim > 0) { free(v); g_emb_state = 1; return 1; }
+    free(v);
+    g_emb_state = -1; return 0;
+}
+
+/* Embed the query. Returns malloc'd vec (caller frees), or NULL if semantic off. */
+static float* engram_embed_query(const char* q, int* dim) {
+    if (!engram_semantic_enabled()) return NULL;
+    if (!q || !*q) return NULL;
+    return engram_embed_raw("search_query: ", q, dim);
+}
+
+/* Cached node embedding. Returns a pointer OWNED BY THE CACHE — do not free. */
+static const float* engram_node_vec(EngramNode* n, int* out_dim) {
+    if (!n || !n->id) return NULL;
+    uint64_t h = engram_fnv1a(n->content);
+    for (int64_t i = 0; i < g_emb_count; i++) {
+        if (g_emb_items[i].id && strcmp(g_emb_items[i].id, n->id) == 0) {
+            if (g_emb_items[i].hash == h && g_emb_items[i].vec) {
+                *out_dim = g_emb_items[i].dim; return g_emb_items[i].vec;
+            }
+            /* content changed → re-embed in place */
+            int dim = 0;
+            float* v = engram_embed_raw("search_document: ", n->content ? n->content : "", &dim);
+            if (!v) return NULL;
+            free(g_emb_items[i].vec);
+            g_emb_items[i].vec = v; g_emb_items[i].dim = dim; g_emb_items[i].hash = h;
+            *out_dim = dim; return v;
+        }
+    }
+    int dim = 0;
+    float* v = engram_embed_raw("search_document: ", n->content ? n->content : "", &dim);
+    if (!v) return NULL;
+    if (g_emb_count >= g_emb_cap) {
+        int64_t nc = g_emb_cap ? g_emb_cap * 2 : 256;
+        EngramEmbEntry* ni = realloc(g_emb_items, (size_t)nc * sizeof(EngramEmbEntry));
+        if (!ni) { free(v); return NULL; }
+        g_emb_items = ni; g_emb_cap = nc;
+    }
+    g_emb_items[g_emb_count].id   = strdup(n->id);
+    g_emb_items[g_emb_count].hash = h;
+    g_emb_items[g_emb_count].vec  = v;
+    g_emb_items[g_emb_count].dim  = dim;
+    g_emb_count++;
+    *out_dim = dim; return v;
+}
+
+static double engram_cosine(const float* a, const float* b, int dim) {
+    double dot = 0, na = 0, nb = 0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < dim; i++) { dot += (double)a[i] * b[i];
+                                    na  += (double)a[i] * a[i];
+                                    nb  += (double)b[i] * b[i]; }
+    if (na <= 0 || nb <= 0) return 0.0;
+    return dot / (sqrt(na) * sqrt(nb));
+}
+
+/* Cosine of node n against the query vector; 0 if unavailable / dim mismatch. */
+static double engram_node_cosine(EngramNode* n, const float* qvec, int qdim) {
+    if (!qvec || qdim <= 0) return 0.0;
+    int ndim = 0;
+    const float* nv = engram_node_vec(n, &ndim);
+    if (!nv || ndim != qdim) return 0.0;
+    return engram_cosine(qvec, nv, qdim);
+}
+
+#else  /* !HAVE_CURL — semantic layer compiled out; callers stay pure-lexical.
+        * Only the two boundary functions the always-compiled search/activate
+        * code calls are stubbed; the query embed always yields NULL so every
+        * cosine is 0 and every caller collapses to lexical-only. */
+static float* engram_embed_query(const char* q, int* dim) { (void)q; (void)dim; return NULL; }
+static double engram_node_cosine(EngramNode* n, const float* qvec, int qdim) {
+    (void)n; (void)qvec; (void)qdim; return 0.0;
+}
+#endif /* HAVE_CURL */
+
 el_val_t engram_search(el_val_t query, el_val_t limit) {
     EngramStore* g = engram_get();
     const char* q = EL_CSTR(query);
@@ -6834,21 +7176,45 @@ el_val_t engram_search(el_val_t query, el_val_t limit) {
     if (lim <= 0) lim = 100;
     el_val_t lst = el_list_empty();
     if (!q || !*q) return lst;
-    int64_t found = 0;
-    for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count && found < lim; i++) {
+    char toks[ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS][ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN];
+    int ntok = engram_tokenize_query(q, toks, ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS);
+    if (ntok == 0) return lst;
+    /* Semantic augmentation: embed the query once; a node is a hit if it covers
+     * >=1 query token (tokenized-lexical, #66) OR its cosine clears the
+     * threshold (#67). qvec is NULL (cosine 0) when semantic is unavailable →
+     * pure tokenized-lexical, byte-identical to the lexical-only behaviour. */
+    int qdim = 0;
+    float* qvec = engram_embed_query(q, &qdim);
+    double sem_min = engram_semantic_min();
+    EngramRankEntry* hits = malloc((size_t)g->node_count * sizeof(EngramRankEntry));
+    if (!hits) { free(qvec); return lst; }
+    int64_t nhits = 0;
+    for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
         EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[i];
         /* Filter transparent layers: nodes whose layer is `transparent=1`
          * shape output but are invisible to introspection ("what do you
          * know about yourself"). They still surface via engram_activate
          * + engram_compile_layered_json — that's the legitimate path. */
         if (engram_layer_is_transparent(n->layer_id)) continue;
-        if (istr_contains(n->content, q) ||
-            istr_contains(n->label,   q) ||
-            istr_contains(n->tags,    q)) {
-            lst = el_list_append(lst, engram_node_to_map(n));
-            found++;
+        int sc = engram_node_match_score(n, toks, ntok);
+        double sem = qvec ? engram_node_cosine(n, qvec, qdim) : 0.0;
+        if (sc > 0 || sem >= sem_min) {
+            hits[nhits].idx      = i;
+            hits[nhits].score    = sc;
+            hits[nhits].salience = n->salience;
+            nhits++;
         }
     }
+    /* Rank by distinct tokens matched (desc) then salience (desc), then cap.
+     * Pure-semantic hits (token score 0) sort after every lexical hit — a
+     * lexical ∪ semantic union with lexical precedence. */
+    qsort(hits, (size_t)nhits, sizeof(EngramRankEntry), engram_rank_cmp);
+    int64_t end = nhits < lim ? nhits : lim;
+    for (int64_t k = 0; k < end; k++) {
+        lst = el_list_append(lst, engram_node_to_map(&g->nodes[hits[k].idx]));
+    }
+    free(hits);
+    free(qvec);
     return lst;
 }
 
@@ -7125,10 +7491,14 @@ static double engram_temporal_proximity_bonus(int64_t node_created,
 static double engram_goal_bias(const EngramNode* n, const char* query) {
     if (!query || !*query) return 1.0;
     double bias = 1.0;
-    /* Direct lexical overlap: node content/label/tags share text with query. */
-    if (istr_contains(n->content, query) || istr_contains(n->label, query) ||
-        istr_contains(n->tags, query)) {
-        bias += 0.5;
+    /* Direct lexical overlap, graded by token coverage: a node covering all
+     * query tokens gets the full +0.5; partial coverage gets a proportional
+     * share. Single-token queries → full +0.5 on match, identical to before. */
+    {
+        char toks[ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS][ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN];
+        int ntok = engram_tokenize_query(query, toks, ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS);
+        int sc   = engram_node_match_score(n, toks, ntok);
+        if (sc > 0 && ntok > 0) bias += 0.5 * ((double)sc / (double)ntok);
     }
     /* Node-type resonance with query intent. */
     int technical_query = istr_contains(query, "code")         ||
@@ -7194,14 +7564,31 @@ el_val_t engram_activate(el_val_t query, el_val_t depth) {
     if (!seeds) {
         free(best_bg); free(best_hops); free(reached); return out;
     }
+    /* Tokenized + semantic seeding: a node seeds if it covers >=1 query token
+     * (tokenized-lexical, #66) OR its cosine clears the threshold (#67). A
+     * lexical seed's activation is scaled by token coverage (fraction of
+     * distinct query tokens covered) so a node matching all words seeds more
+     * strongly than one matching a single word; single-word queries → coverage
+     * 1.0. A pure-semantic seed (no token match) is instead down-weighted by
+     * its cosine so paraphrase matches spread without overpowering exact seeds.
+     * q_vec is NULL (cosine 0) when semantic is unavailable → the seed set is
+     * exactly the tokenized-lexical one. q_vec is freed right after this loop
+     * so the many downstream early-returns need no cleanup change. */
+    char toks[ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS][ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN];
+    int ntok = engram_tokenize_query(q, toks, ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS);
+    int q_dim = 0;
+    float* q_vec = engram_embed_query(q, &q_dim);
+    double q_sem_min = engram_semantic_min();
     for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
         EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[i];
-        if (istr_contains(n->content, q) ||
-            istr_contains(n->label,   q) ||
-            istr_contains(n->tags,    q)) {
+        int sc = engram_node_match_score(n, toks, ntok);
+        double sem = q_vec ? engram_node_cosine(n, q_vec, q_dim) : 0.0;
+        if (sc > 0 || sem >= q_sem_min) {
             double tdecay = engram_temporal_decay(n, now_ms);
             double dampen = engram_activation_dampen(n);
             double act    = n->salience * tdecay * dampen;
+            if (sc > 0) act *= (ntok > 0 ? (double)sc / (double)ntok : 1.0);
+            else        act *= sem;  /* pure-semantic seed: down-weight by cosine */
             seeds[seed_count].idx        = i;
             seeds[seed_count].act        = act;
             seeds[seed_count].created_at = n->created_at;
@@ -7211,6 +7598,7 @@ el_val_t engram_activate(el_val_t query, el_val_t depth) {
             reached[i]   = 1;
         }
     }
+    free(q_vec);
     /* Compute mean seed created_at for temporal proximity bonus. */
     int64_t seed_epoch = 0;
     if (seed_count > 0) {
@@ -7762,6 +8150,35 @@ el_val_t engram_get_node_json(el_val_t id) {
     return el_wrap_str(jb_finish(&b));
 }
 
+/* engram_get_node_by_label — find the first node whose label field exactly
+ * matches the given string. Returns the node as a JSON object string, or "{}"
+ * if no match is found.
+ *
+ * Used by chat.el to retrieve well-known nodes (e.g. "conv:history",
+ * "session:summary") by their stable label rather than by ID, which is immune
+ * to vector index drift across restarts.
+ *
+ * Exact match (strcmp, not istr_contains) because labels like "conv:history"
+ * must not collide with nodes whose content happens to contain that substring.
+ *
+ * Backported verbatim (idiom-adapted to jb_finish) from release runtime
+ * v1.0.0-20260501 to unblock the soul regen link: chat.el references this
+ * native but the current runtime lacked its definition. */
+el_val_t engram_get_node_by_label(el_val_t label) {
+    const char* lbl = EL_CSTR(label);
+    if (!lbl || !*lbl) return el_wrap_str(el_strdup("{}"));
+    EngramStore* g = engram_get();
+    for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
+        EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[i];
+        if (n->label && strcmp(n->label, lbl) == 0) {
+            JsonBuf b; jb_init(&b);
+            engram_emit_node_json(&b, n);
+            return el_wrap_str(jb_finish(&b));
+        }
+    }
+    return el_wrap_str(el_strdup("{}"));
+}
+
 el_val_t engram_search_json(el_val_t query, el_val_t limit) {
     EngramStore* g = engram_get();
     const char* q = EL_CSTR(query);
@@ -7769,22 +8186,50 @@ el_val_t engram_search_json(el_val_t query, el_val_t limit) {
     if (lim <= 0) lim = 100;
     JsonBuf b; jb_init(&b);
     jb_putc(&b, '[');
-    int first = 1;
-    int64_t found = 0;
-    if (q && *q) {
-        for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count && found < lim; i++) {
-            EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[i];
-            /* Filter transparent layers — same as engram_search. */
-            if (engram_layer_is_transparent(n->layer_id)) continue;
-            if (istr_contains(n->content, q) ||
-                istr_contains(n->label,   q) ||
-                istr_contains(n->tags,    q)) {
-                if (!first) jb_putc(&b, ',');
-                engram_emit_node_json(&b, n);
-                first = 0;
-                found++;
+    if (q && *q && g->node_count > 0) {
+        /* Collect candidates from the UNION of tokenized-lexical and semantic
+         * matches, score each, rank by score, emit the top `lim`. A node is a
+         * candidate if it covers >=1 query token (tokenized-lexical, #66) OR its
+         * query cosine clears the threshold (#67). Lexical score is the distinct
+         * token count (>=1), so any lexical hit outranks a pure-semantic hit
+         * (cosine < 1); pure-semantic hits are scored by cosine alone. When
+         * semantic is unavailable qvec is NULL, sem is 0, only tokenized-lexical
+         * hits are collected, and the stable insertion sort preserves order. */
+        char toks[ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS][ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN];
+        int ntok = engram_tokenize_query(q, toks, ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS);
+        int qdim = 0;
+        float* qvec = engram_embed_query(q, &qdim);
+        double sem_min = engram_semantic_min();
+        typedef struct { int64_t idx; double score; } Cand;
+        Cand* cand = malloc((size_t)g->node_count * sizeof(Cand));
+        if (cand) {
+            int64_t nc = 0;
+            for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
+                EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[i];
+                if (engram_layer_is_transparent(n->layer_id)) continue;
+                int sc = engram_node_match_score(n, toks, ntok);
+                double sem = qvec ? engram_node_cosine(n, qvec, qdim) : 0.0;
+                if (sc > 0 || sem >= sem_min) {
+                    cand[nc].idx   = i;
+                    cand[nc].score = (double)sc + sem;
+                    nc++;
+                }
             }
+            /* Insertion sort by score desc; stable for equal scores. */
+            for (int64_t i = 1; i < nc; i++) {
+                Cand k = cand[i]; int64_t j = i - 1;
+                while (j >= 0 && cand[j].score < k.score) { cand[j + 1] = cand[j]; j--; }
+                cand[j + 1] = k;
+            }
+            int first = 1;
+            for (int64_t i = 0; i < nc && i < lim; i++) {
+                if (!first) jb_putc(&b, ',');
+                engram_emit_node_json(&b, &g->nodes[cand[i].idx]);
+                first = 0;
+            }
+            free(cand);
         }
+        free(qvec);
     }
     jb_putc(&b, ']');
     return el_wrap_str(jb_finish(&b));

lang/el-compiler/runtime/el_runtime.h

@@ -632,6 +632,7 @@ el_val_t  engram_load(el_val_t path);
  * can pass results straight through without round-tripping ElList/ElMap
  * through json_stringify. */
 el_val_t  engram_get_node_json(el_val_t id);
+el_val_t  engram_get_node_by_label(el_val_t label);
 el_val_t  engram_search_json(el_val_t query, el_val_t limit);
 el_val_t  engram_scan_nodes_json(el_val_t limit, el_val_t offset);
 el_val_t  engram_scan_nodes_by_type_json(el_val_t node_type, el_val_t limit, el_val_t offset);

lang/el-compiler/runtime/el_seed.c

@@ -1072,6 +1072,7 @@ el_val_t __engram_save(el_val_t path)                       { return engram_save
 el_val_t __engram_load(el_val_t path)                       { return engram_load(path); }
 
 el_val_t __engram_get_node_json(el_val_t id)               { return engram_get_node_json(id); }
+el_val_t __engram_get_node_by_label(el_val_t label)        { return engram_get_node_by_label(label); }
 
 el_val_t __engram_search_json(el_val_t query, el_val_t limit) {
     return engram_search_json(query, limit);

lang/el-compiler/runtime/el_seed.h

@@ -226,6 +226,7 @@ el_val_t  __engram_activate(el_val_t query, el_val_t depth);
 el_val_t  __engram_save(el_val_t path);
 el_val_t  __engram_load(el_val_t path);
 el_val_t  __engram_get_node_json(el_val_t id);
+el_val_t  __engram_get_node_by_label(el_val_t label);
 el_val_t  __engram_search_json(el_val_t query, el_val_t limit);
 el_val_t  __engram_scan_nodes_json(el_val_t limit, el_val_t offset);
 el_val_t  __engram_scan_nodes_by_type_json(el_val_t node_type, el_val_t limit, el_val_t offset);

lang/el-compiler/src/codegen.el

@@ -2670,6 +2670,7 @@ fn builtin_arity(name: String) -> Int {
     if str_eq(name, "engram_save") { return 1 }
     if str_eq(name, "engram_load") { return 1 }
     if str_eq(name, "engram_get_node_json") { return 1 }
+    if str_eq(name, "engram_get_node_by_label") { return 1 }
     if str_eq(name, "engram_search_json") { return 2 }
     if str_eq(name, "engram_scan_nodes_json") { return 2 }
     if str_eq(name, "engram_neighbors_json") { return 3 }

lang/el-compiler/src/parser.el

@@ -23,10 +23,29 @@ fn tok_at(tokens: [Any], pos: Int) -> Map<String, Any> {
 }
 
 fn tok_kind(tokens: [Any], pos: Int) -> String {
+    // Out-of-range reads must report the Eof sentinel so every `== "Eof"`
+    // termination guard in the parser fires. Without this, reading past the
+    // single trailing Eof token returns runtime null (el_list_get OOB -> 0),
+    // which matches no delimiter, letting inner parse loops append AST nodes
+    // forever on malformed input -> unbounded allocation -> OOM.
+    let n: Int = native_list_len(tokens) / 2
+    if pos < 0 {
+        return "Eof"
+    }
+    if pos >= n {
+        return "Eof"
+    }
     native_list_get(tokens, pos * 2)
 }
 
 fn tok_value(tokens: [Any], pos: Int) -> String {
+    let n: Int = native_list_len(tokens) / 2
+    if pos < 0 {
+        return ""
+    }
+    if pos >= n {
+        return ""
+    }
     native_list_get(tokens, pos * 2 + 1)
 }
 
@@ -35,7 +54,12 @@ fn expect(tokens: [Any], pos: Int, kind: String) -> Int {
     if k == kind {
         return pos + 1
     }
-    // On mismatch just advance; error recovery is best-effort
+    // On mismatch, error recovery is best-effort. But never step PAST the Eof
+    // sentinel: once at Eof a mismatch means the input ended early, and
+    // advancing would run the cursor off the token list.
+    if k == "Eof" {
+        return pos
+    }
     pos + 1
 }
 

lang/releases/v1.0.0-20260501/el_platform_win.h

@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
+#ifndef EL_PLATFORM_WIN_H
+#define EL_PLATFORM_WIN_H
+/*
+ * el_platform_win.h — Windows OS-boundary shim for el_runtime.c.
+ *
+ * Branch: feat/windows-el-runtime. Included ONLY when _WIN32 is defined; the POSIX build is
+ * untouched. Goal: let el_runtime.c (a BSD-sockets / dlfcn / fork host) compile and link with
+ * mingw-w64 into a native neuron.exe, with no behavioural change to the Linux/macOS build.
+ *
+ * What it maps:
+ *   - sockets  : winsock2 (same call names: socket/bind/listen/accept/recv/send/setsockopt).
+ *                Sockets close with closesocket() (see el_closesocket), and the stack must be
+ *                started once with WSAStartup — done automatically via a load-time constructor.
+ *   - dlsym    : el_runtime.c uses dlsym(RTLD_DEFAULT, name) to resolve callback/tool symbols
+ *                exported by the main module. Windows equivalent: GetProcAddress on the process
+ *                module. Link the soul with -Wl,--export-all-symbols so the symbols are findable.
+ *   - popen    : mapped to _popen/_pclose.
+ *   - threads  : UNCHANGED. mingw-w64 ships winpthreads, so <pthread.h> + -lpthread just work.
+ */
+
+#ifndef WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
+#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
+#endif
+#include <winsock2.h>
+#include <ws2tcpip.h>
+#include <windows.h>
+#include <io.h>
+#include <process.h>
+
+/* Portable headers mingw-w64 provides (verified present). */
+#include <stdarg.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <strings.h>   /* strcasecmp */
+#include <ctype.h>
+#include <math.h>
+#include <time.h>
+#include <sys/time.h>  /* mingw-w64 provides gettimeofday here */
+#include <sys/types.h>
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+#include <fcntl.h>
+#include <dirent.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <pthread.h>
+
+/* ── socket close ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+/* Winsock closes sockets with closesocket(), not close() (close() is for file fds). The POSIX
+   build defines the same helper as close() so the call sites are identical across platforms. */
+static inline int el_closesocket(SOCKET s) { return closesocket(s); }
+
+/* ── setsockopt optval type ───────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+/* Winsock's setsockopt takes optval as (const char*); POSIX takes (const void*), so el_runtime.c
+   passes &int directly. GCC 14+ makes that an error under -Wincompatible-pointer-types. Wrap it so
+   the runtime's POSIX-style call sites compile unchanged (defined before the macro so the wrapper
+   itself resolves to the real winsock setsockopt). */
+static inline int el_setsockopt(SOCKET s, int level, int optname, const void* optval, int optlen) {
+    return setsockopt(s, level, optname, (const char*)optval, optlen);
+}
+#define setsockopt(s, l, o, v, n) el_setsockopt((s), (l), (o), (v), (int)(n))
+
+/* ── winsock init (once, at load) ─────────────────────────────────────────── */
+static void el__win_net_init(void) {
+    static int inited = 0;
+    if (!inited) { WSADATA w; WSAStartup(MAKEWORD(2, 2), &w); inited = 1; }
+}
+__attribute__((constructor)) static void el__win_ctor(void) { el__win_net_init(); }
+
+/* ── dlsym → GetProcAddress ───────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+#ifndef RTLD_DEFAULT
+#define RTLD_DEFAULT ((void*)0)
+#endif
+static inline void* el_win_dlsym(void* handle, const char* name) {
+    (void)handle;
+    return (void*)(uintptr_t)GetProcAddress(GetModuleHandleA(NULL), name);
+}
+#define dlsym(h, n) el_win_dlsym((h), (n))
+
+/* ── popen / pclose ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+#define popen  _popen
+#define pclose _pclose
+
+/* ── misc POSIX → Win32 shims ─────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+#include <direct.h>            /* _mkdir */
+#define mkdir(path, mode) _mkdir(path)     /* POSIX mkdir(path,mode) → _mkdir(path) */
+#define timegm _mkgmtime                   /* UTC tm → time_t */
+
+/* setenv/unsetenv: not in the Windows CRT; map to _putenv_s / SetEnvironmentVariable. */
+static inline int setenv(const char* name, const char* value, int overwrite) {
+    (void)overwrite;
+    return _putenv_s(name, value ? value : "");
+}
+static inline int unsetenv(const char* name) {
+    /* _putenv_s(name, "") sets VAR="" rather than removing it.
+     * SetEnvironmentVariableA(name, NULL) truly deletes it from the Win32
+     * env block; then we sync the CRT cache with _putenv("NAME=").       */
+    SetEnvironmentVariableA(name, NULL);
+    size_t len = strlen(name);
+    char *buf = (char*)malloc(len + 2);
+    if (!buf) return -1;
+    memcpy(buf, name, len);
+    buf[len] = '=';
+    buf[len + 1] = '\0';
+    _putenv(buf);
+    free(buf);
+    return 0;
+}
+
+/* nanosleep — not available in MSVC/UCRT; approximate with Sleep(). */
+static inline int el_nanosleep(const struct timespec *req, struct timespec *rem) {
+    (void)rem;
+    DWORD ms = (DWORD)((req->tv_sec * 1000ULL) + (req->tv_nsec / 1000000ULL));
+    Sleep(ms ? ms : 1);
+    return 0;
+}
+#define nanosleep(req, rem) el_nanosleep((req), (rem))
+
+/* localtime_r/gmtime_r: Windows offers localtime_s/gmtime_s with reversed arg order. */
+static inline struct tm* localtime_r(const time_t* t, struct tm* out) {
+    return localtime_s(out, t) == 0 ? out : (struct tm*)0;
+}
+static inline struct tm* gmtime_r(const time_t* t, struct tm* out) {
+    return gmtime_s(out, t) == 0 ? out : (struct tm*)0;
+}
+
+/* ── libcurl: degradable stubs for the curl-less Windows build ─────────────── */
+/* The curl-less validation build (WITH_CURL=0) links no libcurl. el_runtime.c uses libcurl
+ * unconditionally for its HTTP client / LLM layer; these stubs let it compile and link so the
+ * runtime, HTTP *server*, graph and memory work natively on Windows. Live outbound HTTP/LLM calls
+ * degrade to a runtime error (curl_easy_perform returns an error) — matching the documented
+ * curl-less contract. When HAVE_CURL is defined (WITH_CURL=1) the real <curl/curl.h> is used and
+ * this whole block is compiled out. POSIX never sees this header, so the POSIX build is untouched. */
+#ifndef HAVE_CURL
+
+typedef void CURL;
+typedef int  CURLcode;
+
+#define CURLE_OK                    0
+#define CURLE_HTTP_RETURNED_ERROR   22
+#define CURL_ERROR_SIZE             256
+
+/* Option ids: values are irrelevant to the no-op setopt below; kept distinct for readability. */
+#define CURLOPT_URL              10002
+#define CURLOPT_WRITEFUNCTION    20011
+#define CURLOPT_WRITEDATA        10001
+#define CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS       10015
+#define CURLOPT_POSTFIELDSIZE      120
+#define CURLOPT_POST                47
+#define CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER       10023
+#define CURLOPT_TIMEOUT_MS         155
+#define CURLOPT_NOSIGNAL            99
+#define CURLOPT_USERAGENT        10018
+#define CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION      52
+#define CURLOPT_ERRORBUFFER      10010
+#define CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST    10036
+#define CURLOPT_FAILONERROR         45
+
+struct curl_slist { char* data; struct curl_slist* next; };
+
+static inline struct curl_slist* curl_slist_append(struct curl_slist* list, const char* s) {
+    struct curl_slist* node = (struct curl_slist*)malloc(sizeof(struct curl_slist));
+    if (!node) return list;
+    node->data = s ? strdup(s) : NULL;
+    node->next = NULL;
+    if (!list) return node;
+    struct curl_slist* p = list;
+    while (p->next) p = p->next;
+    p->next = node;
+    return list;
+}
+static inline void curl_slist_free_all(struct curl_slist* list) {
+    while (list) { struct curl_slist* n = list->next; free(list->data); free(list); list = n; }
+}
+
+static inline CURL* curl_easy_init(void) { return (CURL*)malloc(1); }
+static inline CURLcode curl_easy_setopt(CURL* h, int opt, ...) { (void)h; (void)opt; return CURLE_OK; }
+static inline CURLcode curl_easy_perform(CURL* h) { (void)h; return 7 /* CURLE_COULDNT_CONNECT */; }
+static inline void curl_easy_cleanup(CURL* h) { free(h); }
+static inline const char* curl_easy_strerror(CURLcode c) {
+    (void)c; return "libcurl not built in (curl-less build)";
+}
+
+#endif /* !HAVE_CURL */
+
+#endif /* EL_PLATFORM_WIN_H */

lang/releases/v1.0.0-20260501/el_runtime.h

@@ -758,6 +758,18 @@ el_val_t trace_span_start(el_val_t name);
 el_val_t trace_span_end(el_val_t span_handle);
 el_val_t emit_event(el_val_t name, el_val_t duration_ms);
 
+/* ── Runtime symbols required by the soul modules ──────────────────────────── */
+/* All implemented in el_runtime.c but omitted from this release header; the soul dist modules
+ * reference them directly, so the public header must export them. Declarations only — mirrors the
+ * mainline el_runtime.h and is platform-independent (no behavioural change to the POSIX build). */
+typedef el_val_t (*http_handler_fn)(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
+typedef el_val_t (*http_handler4_fn)(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body, el_val_t headers);
+el_val_t  el_arena_push(void);
+el_val_t  el_arena_pop(el_val_t mark);
+void      http_serve_async(el_val_t port, el_val_t handler);
+el_val_t  engram_get_node_by_label(el_val_t label);
+el_val_t  engram_prune_telemetry(el_val_t older_than_ms);
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif

peripheral/.gitignore

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# Build + runtime artifacts — never committed.
+bin/
+# Captured media (camera frames, mic audio) and syntheses. Raw streams stay
+# LOCAL and never egress — including into git.
+out/
+# Runtime consent + resume state (local, per-machine).
+.consent.json
+.resume.json

peripheral/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+# peripheral — Neuron's I/O organ (own-core, local, consent-gated)
+
+The interface made physical. Two afferent senses in, one efferent voice out —
+all reached the way the agentic surface reaches any tool.
+
+```
+MIC    (hear)  afferent   device -> capture -> descriptor -> ingest -> geometry
+CAMERA (see)   afferent   device -> capture -> descriptor -> ingest -> scene-geometry
+SPEAKER(speak) efferent   render WAV -> PLAY ALOUD out the speaker
+```
+
+Closes the conversational loop: **hear (mic) -> understand (engram) -> speak (speaker)**.
+
+## Rails
+- **Own-core.** macOS-native only: AVFoundation (camera/mic), CoreAudio voice-
+  processing (AEC), afplay (speaker), ImageIO/CoreGraphics (frames), hand-rolled
+  DSP (WAV, LPC, formant synthesis). No cloud, no heavy deps.
+- **Local-only.** Raw streams are written to `out/` and never egress. `.gitignore`
+  keeps captured media out of git.
+- **Consent-gated (two locks).** A Neuron-level grant (`grant`/`revoke`) *and* the
+  OS TCC permission. Sensitive senses (camera/mic) fail closed without both.
+- **Disclosed.** Every device touch prints a `[peripheral]` line on stderr.
+
+## Build
+```
+swiftc -O -o bin/periph src/periph.swift \
+  -framework AVFoundation -framework CoreMedia -framework Foundation \
+  -framework CoreGraphics -framework ImageIO -framework CoreImage
+```
+
+## Commands
+```
+periph grant|revoke <camera|mic>          # Neuron-level consent
+periph status
+periph speak <file.wav>                   # SPEAK ALOUD (efferent)
+periph tone <out.wav> [hz] [sec]          # own-core WAV synth
+periph listen <sec> <out.wav>             # MIC capture (afferent), 16k mono
+periph see <out.jpg>                      # CAMERA one frame (afferent)
+periph feat-audio <wav> | feat-image <jpg>          # capture -> compact descriptor
+periph ingest-audio|ingest-image <file> <engramURL> # descriptor -> engram node (geometry)
+periph voiceprint <voice.wav>             # extract F0 + formants F1-F5
+periph imitate <voice.wav> <out.wav>      # speak back in that voice (LPC resynthesis)
+periph hear-imitate <sec> <out.wav>       # MIC -> signature -> imitate -> SPEAK ALOUD
+periph converse <manifest.json> [--authority F] [--barge-at S[:backchannel|:bargein]] [--resume] [--live-mic]
+```
+
+## The afferent metabolism
+A capture is never shipped raw. It becomes a **compact descriptor** — the afferent
+twin of the music instrument-signature:
+- audio -> `[seconds, sr, ch, rms, peak, zcr, centroid, F0]` (~2400-6000x smaller)
+- image -> `[w, h, meanRGB, brightness, 3x3 luminance grid]` (~400000x smaller)
+- voice -> `[F0, F1..F5, bandwidths]` (11 numbers)
+
+That descriptor is what the ingest organ (engram `POST /api/nodes`) turns into an
+embedded node = geometry.
+
+## Voice by imitation
+`voiceprint`/`imitate` are own-core LPC (autocorrelation + Levinson-Durbin, order
+16 @ 16 kHz), formant extraction from the LPC spectral envelope, and source-filter
+resynthesis (glottal impulse train at F0 through the all-pole formant filter). A
+voice is grabbed by ear as ~a dozen numbers and spoken back — **no training, no
+stolen voice.** Measured fidelity on real speech: resynthesized formants match the
+source within 2-3%. The full phoneme->formant path for *novel* sentences is the
+speech faculty's seam (`elp` audio surface profile); this engine provides the
+formant synthesis primitive it renders through.
+
+## Interruptibility (native turn-taking)
+`converse` plays the utterance as an ordered, salience-tagged **meaning-plan**
+while the mic listens (full-duplex, AEC on so it never barges in on its own voice):
+- **barge-in**: user speech -> pause on the spot (sample-accurate), not "finish the buffer."
+- **yield-or-hold**: a decision grounded in the current segment's salience + progress
+  + the interrupter's authority — YIELD (stop) or HOLD ("hang on, let me finish").
+- **backchannel** ("mm-hm"): brief/low -> keep going, resume seamlessly.
+- **resumable**: on yield the remaining plan persists (`.resume.json`); `--resume`
+  picks the thread back up ("as I was saying").
+
+Live full-duplex uses `--live-mic` (OS AEC). Injected `--barge-at` drives the
+decision loop deterministically for testing.
+```
+```

peripheral/src/periph.swift

@@ -0,0 +1,939 @@
+// periph.swift — Neuron's PERIPHERAL I/O organ (own-core, LOCAL, CONSENT-GATED).
+//
+// The interface made physical:
+//   MIC    (hear)  = afferent  : device -> capture -> [ingest -> geometry]
+//   CAMERA (see)   = afferent  : device -> capture -> [ingest -> scene-geometry]
+//   SPEAKER(speak) = efferent  : [render WAV] -> PLAY ALOUD out the speaker
+//
+// Rails: own-core (AVFoundation / CoreAudio / afplay — all ship with macOS),
+//        no cloud, no heavy deps, raw streams stay LOCAL and never egress,
+//        every device access is CONSENT-GATED and DISCLOSED.
+//
+// Full-duplex CONVERSE mode implements native interruptibility: while the
+// speaker plays the utterance (a persistent, segmented meaning-plan), the mic
+// listens; on user speech it interrupts instantly, then DECIDES yield-or-hold
+// grounded in the salience of what it is mid-saying, and can RESUME the thread.
+//
+// Build:  swiftc -O -o peripheral/bin/periph peripheral/src/periph.swift \
+//               -framework AVFoundation -framework CoreMedia -framework Foundation
+
+import Foundation
+import AVFoundation
+import CoreMedia
+import CoreGraphics
+import ImageIO
+import CoreImage
+
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Disclosure — every peripheral touch is announced on stderr. Nothing is silent.
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+func disclose(_ msg: String) {
+    FileHandle.standardError.write("  [peripheral] \(msg)\n".data(using: .utf8)!)
+}
+func emit(_ obj: [String: Any]) {  // machine-readable event on stdout (JSON line)
+    if let d = try? JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: obj),
+       let s = String(data: d, encoding: .utf8) {
+        print(s)
+    }
+}
+func die(_ msg: String) -> Never {
+    disclose("ERROR: \(msg)")
+    emit(["ok": false, "error": msg])
+    exit(1)
+}
+
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Consent store — Neuron's OWN gate, on top of the OS (TCC) gate. Two locks on
+// the sensitive senses. Persisted locally next to the binary's organ dir.
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+struct Consent {
+    static let path: String = {
+        let dir = ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["PERIPH_HOME"]
+            ?? FileManager.default.currentDirectoryPath + "/peripheral"
+        return dir + "/.consent.json"
+    }()
+
+    static func load() -> [String: Bool] {
+        guard let d = FileManager.default.contents(atPath: path),
+              let o = try? JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: d) as? [String: Bool]
+        else { return ["camera": false, "mic": false] }
+        return o
+    }
+    static func save(_ g: [String: Bool]) {
+        let d = try! JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: g, options: [.prettyPrinted])
+        try? d.write(to: URL(fileURLWithPath: path))
+    }
+    // Neuron-level gate. Sensitive senses (camera/mic) require an explicit grant.
+    static func require(_ device: String) {
+        let g = load()
+        if g[device] != true {
+            die("CONSENT DENIED for '\(device)'. The user has not granted this sense. " +
+                "Run:  periph grant \(device)   (raw streams stay local, never egress).")
+        }
+        disclose("consent OK (Neuron-level) for '\(device)' — local only, never egresses.")
+    }
+}
+
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// OS (TCC) permission — the second lock. AVFoundation prompts the user the first
+// time; if denied, we fail cleanly rather than hang.
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+func requireOSAccess(_ media: AVMediaType, _ label: String) {
+    let status = AVCaptureDevice.authorizationStatus(for: media)
+    switch status {
+    case .authorized:
+        disclose("consent OK (OS/TCC) for \(label).")
+        return
+    case .notDetermined:
+        disclose("requesting OS permission for \(label) (first use) — user must grant...")
+        let sem = DispatchSemaphore(value: 0)
+        var ok = false
+        AVCaptureDevice.requestAccess(for: media) { granted in ok = granted; sem.signal() }
+        _ = sem.wait(timeout: .now() + 30)
+        if !ok { die("OS permission for \(label) was not granted.") }
+        disclose("consent OK (OS/TCC) for \(label).")
+    case .denied, .restricted:
+        die("OS permission for \(label) is DENIED in System Settings > Privacy. " +
+            "Grant it to the controlling terminal/app, then retry.")
+    @unknown default:
+        die("unknown OS permission state for \(label).")
+    }
+}
+
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Own-core WAV writer (16-bit PCM). No library — proves we own the medium.
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+func writeWav(_ url: URL, samples: [Int16], sampleRate: Int, channels: Int = 1) {
+    var data = Data()
+    func u32(_ v: UInt32) { var x = v.littleEndian; data.append(Data(bytes: &x, count: 4)) }
+    func u16(_ v: UInt16) { var x = v.littleEndian; data.append(Data(bytes: &x, count: 2)) }
+    let bytesPerSample = 2
+    let dataBytes = samples.count * bytesPerSample
+    let byteRate = sampleRate * channels * bytesPerSample
+    data.append("RIFF".data(using: .ascii)!); u32(UInt32(36 + dataBytes))
+    data.append("WAVE".data(using: .ascii)!)
+    data.append("fmt ".data(using: .ascii)!); u32(16); u16(1); u16(UInt16(channels))
+    u32(UInt32(sampleRate)); u32(UInt32(byteRate))
+    u16(UInt16(channels * bytesPerSample)); u16(16)
+    data.append("data".data(using: .ascii)!); u32(UInt32(dataBytes))
+    for s in samples { var x = s.littleEndian; data.append(Data(bytes: &x, count: 2)) }
+    try? data.write(to: url)
+}
+
+// Read a WAV's basic geometry (own-core header parse). Walks chunks to find
+// 'fmt ' and 'data' — robust to JUNK/FLLR padding chunks (AVAudioRecorder emits them).
+func wavInfo(_ path: String) -> (sampleRate: Int, channels: Int, bits: Int, frames: Int)? {
+    guard let d = FileManager.default.contents(atPath: path), d.count > 44 else { return nil }
+    func rd16(_ o: Int) -> Int { Int(d[o]) | (Int(d[o+1]) << 8) }
+    func rd32(_ o: Int) -> Int { Int(d[o]) | (Int(d[o+1])<<8) | (Int(d[o+2])<<16) | (Int(d[o+3])<<24) }
+    var channels = 0, sampleRate = 0, bits = 0, dataSize = 0
+    var o = 12
+    while o + 8 <= d.count {
+        let id = String(bytes: d[o..<o+4], encoding: .ascii) ?? ""
+        let sz = rd32(o+4)
+        if id == "fmt " && o + 24 <= d.count {
+            channels = rd16(o+10); sampleRate = rd32(o+12); bits = rd16(o+22)
+        } else if id == "data" {
+            dataSize = min(sz, d.count - (o+8))
+        }
+        o += 8 + sz + (sz & 1)
+    }
+    let frames = (channels > 0 && bits > 0) ? dataSize / (channels * bits/8) : 0
+    return (sampleRate, channels, bits, frames)
+}
+
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// SPEAKER (efferent) — play a WAV ALOUD. Own-core: afplay ships with macOS.
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+func speak(_ wavPath: String) {
+    guard FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: wavPath) else { die("no such file: \(wavPath)") }
+    disclose("SPEAKER: playing '\(wavPath)' ALOUD out the local speaker (efferent).")
+    let p = Process()
+    p.executableURL = URL(fileURLWithPath: "/usr/bin/afplay")
+    p.arguments = [wavPath]
+    try? p.run(); p.waitUntilExit()
+    let ok = p.terminationStatus == 0
+    disclose(ok ? "SPEAKER: done — Neuron spoke aloud." : "SPEAKER: afplay failed.")
+    if let i = wavInfo(wavPath) {
+        emit(["ok": ok, "op": "speak", "file": wavPath, "played_aloud": ok,
+              "sample_rate": i.sampleRate, "channels": i.channels,
+              "seconds": Double(i.frames)/Double(max(i.sampleRate,1))])
+    } else {
+        emit(["ok": ok, "op": "speak", "file": wavPath, "played_aloud": ok])
+    }
+}
+
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// MIC (afferent) — capture N seconds -> 16k mono 16-bit WAV (formant-ready).
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+func listen(seconds: Double, out: String) {
+    Consent.require("mic")
+    requireOSAccess(.audio, "microphone")
+    disclose("MIC: capturing \(seconds)s -> '\(out)' (16 kHz mono, LOCAL, never egresses).")
+
+    let url = URL(fileURLWithPath: out)
+    let settings: [String: Any] = [
+        AVFormatIDKey: kAudioFormatLinearPCM,
+        AVSampleRateKey: 16000.0,
+        AVNumberOfChannelsKey: 1,
+        AVLinearPCMBitDepthKey: 16,
+        AVLinearPCMIsFloatKey: false,
+        AVLinearPCMIsBigEndianKey: false,
+    ]
+    guard let rec = try? AVAudioRecorder(url: url, settings: settings) else {
+        die("could not open the microphone recorder.")
+    }
+    rec.record()
+    Thread.sleep(forTimeInterval: seconds)
+    rec.stop()
+    // let the file flush
+    Thread.sleep(forTimeInterval: 0.1)
+    if let i = wavInfo(out) {
+        disclose("MIC: captured \(i.frames) frames @ \(i.sampleRate)Hz — ready to hand to the ingest organ.")
+        emit(["ok": true, "op": "listen", "file": out, "sample_rate": i.sampleRate,
+              "channels": i.channels, "frames": i.frames,
+              "seconds": Double(i.frames)/Double(max(i.sampleRate,1)),
+              "next": "ingest -> phonetic/voice geometry"])
+    } else {
+        die("mic capture produced no readable WAV.")
+    }
+}
+
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// CAMERA (afferent) — capture ONE frame -> JPEG on disk.
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Grab one video frame via AVCaptureVideoDataOutput (CLI-safe; no KVO/photo classes).
+final class FrameGrabber: NSObject, AVCaptureVideoDataOutputSampleBufferDelegate {
+    let sem = DispatchSemaphore(value: 0)
+    var cgImage: CGImage?
+    var seen = 0
+    let cictx = CIContext(options: nil)
+    func captureOutput(_ output: AVCaptureOutput, didOutput sampleBuffer: CMSampleBuffer,
+                       from connection: AVCaptureConnection) {
+        seen += 1
+        if cgImage != nil || seen < 5 { return }        // let exposure settle a few frames
+        guard let pb = CMSampleBufferGetImageBuffer(sampleBuffer) else { return }
+        let ci = CIImage(cvPixelBuffer: pb)
+        cgImage = cictx.createCGImage(ci, from: ci.extent)
+        sem.signal()
+    }
+}
+func see(out: String) {
+    Consent.require("camera")
+    requireOSAccess(.video, "camera")
+    disclose("CAMERA: capturing one frame -> '\(out)' (LOCAL, never egresses).")
+
+    let session = AVCaptureSession()
+    session.sessionPreset = .photo
+    guard let device = AVCaptureDevice.default(for: .video),
+          let input = try? AVCaptureDeviceInput(device: device),
+          session.canAddInput(input) else { die("no camera device available.") }
+    session.addInput(input)
+    let output = AVCaptureVideoDataOutput()
+    output.alwaysDiscardsLateVideoFrames = true
+    let grabber = FrameGrabber()
+    output.setSampleBufferDelegate(grabber, queue: DispatchQueue(label: "periph.cam"))
+    guard session.canAddOutput(output) else { die("cannot add video output.") }
+    session.addOutput(output)
+    session.startRunning()
+
+    if grabber.sem.wait(timeout: .now() + 10) == .timedOut { session.stopRunning(); die("camera capture timed out.") }
+    session.stopRunning()
+
+    guard let cg = grabber.cgImage,
+          let dst = CGImageDestinationCreateWithURL(URL(fileURLWithPath: out) as CFURL,
+                                                    "public.jpeg" as CFString, 1, nil)
+    else { die("camera returned no frame.") }
+    CGImageDestinationAddImage(dst, cg, nil)
+    guard CGImageDestinationFinalize(dst) else { die("could not write JPEG.") }
+    let bytes = ((try? FileManager.default.attributesOfItem(atPath: out))?[.size] as? Int) ?? 0
+    disclose("CAMERA: wrote \(cg.width)x\(cg.height) frame (\(bytes) bytes) — ready for scene-geometry ingest.")
+    emit(["ok": true, "op": "see", "file": out, "width": cg.width, "height": cg.height,
+          "bytes": bytes, "next": "ingest -> scene-geometry"])
+}
+
+// ============================================================================
+// FEAT — the afferent METABOLISM: a raw capture becomes a COMPACT descriptor
+// (a few dozen numbers), the mirror of the efferent signature. This is what
+// gets handed to the ingest organ as geometry — NOT the raw stream. Own-core.
+// ============================================================================
+
+// Read all 16-bit PCM samples from a WAV (own-core).
+func readWavSamples(_ path: String) -> (samples: [Double], sr: Int, ch: Int)? {
+    guard let d = FileManager.default.contents(atPath: path), d.count > 44 else { return nil }
+    func rd16(_ o: Int) -> Int { Int(d[o]) | (Int(d[o+1]) << 8) }
+    func rd32(_ o: Int) -> Int { Int(d[o]) | (Int(d[o+1])<<8) | (Int(d[o+2])<<16) | (Int(d[o+3])<<24) }
+    var ch = 0, sr = 0, bits = 0
+    var o = 12
+    while o + 8 <= d.count {
+        let id = String(bytes: d[o..<o+4], encoding: .ascii) ?? ""
+        let sz = rd32(o+4)
+        if id == "fmt " && o + 24 <= d.count { ch = rd16(o+10); sr = rd32(o+12); bits = rd16(o+22) }
+        if id == "data" {
+            guard bits == 16, ch > 0 else { return nil }
+            var samples = [Double](); let start = o + 8
+            let end = min(start + sz, d.count - 1)
+            var i = start
+            while i + 1 < end {
+                var v = Int(rd16(i)); if v >= 32768 { v -= 65536 }
+                samples.append(Double(v) / 32768.0)
+                i += 2 * ch                       // take channel 0 if stereo
+            }
+            return (samples, sr, ch)
+        }
+        o += 8 + sz + (sz & 1)
+    }
+    return nil
+}
+
+// Audio descriptor = compact sound/voice signature (energy, ZCR, centroid, F0).
+// The seed for phonetic geometry + the hear->imitate voice-signature.
+func computeAudio(_ path: String) -> (content: String, vector: [Double], extra: [String: Any]) {
+    guard let (s, sr, ch) = readWavSamples(path), !s.isEmpty else { die("cannot read PCM from \(path)") }
+    let n = s.count
+    let seconds = Double(n) / Double(sr)
+    var sumsq = 0.0, peak = 0.0, zc = 0.0
+    for i in 0..<n {
+        sumsq += s[i]*s[i]; peak = max(peak, abs(s[i]))
+        if i > 0 && (s[i-1] < 0) != (s[i] < 0) { zc += 1 }
+    }
+    let rms = (sumsq / Double(n)).squareRoot()
+    let zcr = zc / Double(n) * Double(sr)          // ~2*dominant freq for tonal
+    // Spectral centroid via a coarse DFT on a mid window (own-core).
+    let W = min(2048, n); let off = max(0, (n - W)/2)
+    var num = 0.0, den = 0.0
+    let bins = 64
+    for k in 1..<bins {
+        let f = Double(k) * Double(sr) / Double(2*bins)
+        var re = 0.0, im = 0.0
+        for j in 0..<W {
+            let ang = -2*Double.pi*Double(k)*Double(j)/Double(2*bins)
+            re += s[off+j]*cos(ang); im += s[off+j]*sin(ang)
+        }
+        let mag = (re*re+im*im).squareRoot()
+        num += f*mag; den += mag
+    }
+    let centroid = den > 0 ? num/den : 0
+    // F0 via autocorrelation (voice pitch) over plausible speech range 70-400 Hz.
+    var bestLag = 0; var bestCorr = 0.0
+    let lagMin = sr/400, lagMax = min(sr/70, n-1)
+    if lagMax > lagMin {
+        for lag in lagMin...lagMax {
+            var c = 0.0
+            var i = 0; while i + lag < min(n, off+W) { c += s[off+i]*s[off+i+lag]; i += 1 }
+            if c > bestCorr { bestCorr = c; bestLag = lag }
+        }
+    }
+    let f0 = bestLag > 0 ? Double(sr)/Double(bestLag) : 0
+    let vector: [Double] = [seconds, Double(sr), Double(ch), rms, peak, zcr, centroid, f0]
+    let content = String(format:
+        "Heard sound (afferent, mic): %.2fs at %dHz. RMS energy %.3f, peak %.3f, " +
+        "zero-crossing rate %.0fHz, spectral centroid %.0fHz, estimated voice pitch F0 %.0fHz. " +
+        "Compact voice/sound signature (%d numbers) — phonetic geometry + hear-to-imitate seed.",
+        seconds, sr, rms, peak, zcr, centroid, f0, vector.count)
+    disclose("FEAT(audio): \(vector.count)-number signature vs \(n) raw samples (~\(n/max(vector.count,1))x compression).")
+    return (content, vector, ["f0_hz": f0, "centroid_hz": centroid, "zcr_hz": zcr,
+                             "rms": rms, "seconds": seconds, "raw_samples": n])
+}
+func featAudio(_ path: String) {
+    let r = computeAudio(path)
+    var out: [String: Any] = ["ok": true, "op": "feat-audio", "file": path,
+                              "vector": r.vector, "content": r.content,
+                              "ingest": ["node_type": "Observation", "tier": "Episodic", "content": r.content]]
+    r.extra.forEach { out[$0] = $1 }
+    emit(out)
+}
+
+// Image descriptor = compact scene-geometry (dims, brightness, region grid).
+func computeImage(_ path: String) -> (content: String, vector: [Double], extra: [String: Any]) {
+    guard let src = CGImageSourceCreateWithURL(URL(fileURLWithPath: path) as CFURL, nil),
+          let img = CGImageSourceCreateImageAtIndex(src, 0, nil) else { die("cannot decode image \(path)") }
+    let w = img.width, h = img.height
+    let cs = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB()
+    let bpr = w * 4
+    var buf = [UInt8](repeating: 0, count: h * bpr)
+    guard let ctx = CGContext(data: &buf, width: w, height: h, bitsPerComponent: 8,
+                              bytesPerRow: bpr, space: cs,
+                              bitmapInfo: CGImageAlphaInfo.premultipliedLast.rawValue) else {
+        die("cannot rasterize image")
+    }
+    ctx.draw(img, in: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: w, height: h))
+    // 3x3 region average luminance + overall average color.
+    var rAvg = 0.0, gAvg = 0.0, bAvg = 0.0
+    var grid = [Double](repeating: 0, count: 9); var gridN = [Int](repeating: 0, count: 9)
+    let step = max(1, (w*h)/40000)             // subsample for speed
+    var count = 0; var idx = 0
+    while idx < w*h {
+        let x = idx % w, y = idx / w
+        let p = y*bpr + x*4
+        let r = Double(buf[p]), g = Double(buf[p+1]), b = Double(buf[p+2])
+        rAvg += r; gAvg += g; bAvg += b; count += 1
+        let cell = (min(2, y*3/h))*3 + min(2, x*3/w)
+        grid[cell] += 0.299*r + 0.587*g + 0.114*b; gridN[cell] += 1
+        idx += step
+    }
+    if count == 0 { die("no pixels sampled") }
+    rAvg /= Double(count); gAvg /= Double(count); bAvg /= Double(count)
+    for i in 0..<9 { grid[i] = gridN[i] > 0 ? grid[i]/Double(gridN[i]) : 0 }
+    let bright = (0.299*rAvg + 0.587*gAvg + 0.114*bAvg)/255.0
+    let vector = [Double(w), Double(h), rAvg/255, gAvg/255, bAvg/255, bright] + grid.map { $0/255 }
+    let content = String(format:
+        "Saw scene (afferent, camera): %dx%d frame. Mean color rgb(%.0f,%.0f,%.0f), " +
+        "brightness %.2f. 3x3 luminance grid [%.0f %.0f %.0f / %.0f %.0f %.0f / %.0f %.0f %.0f]. " +
+        "Compact scene-geometry (%d numbers) vs %d pixel-channels.",
+        w, h, rAvg, gAvg, bAvg, bright,
+        grid[0],grid[1],grid[2],grid[3],grid[4],grid[5],grid[6],grid[7],grid[8],
+        vector.count, w*h*3)
+    disclose("FEAT(image): \(vector.count)-number scene-geometry vs \(w*h*3) pixel-channels (~\(w*h*3/max(vector.count,1))x).")
+    return (content, vector, ["width": w, "height": h, "brightness": bright])
+}
+func featImage(_ path: String) {
+    let r = computeImage(path)
+    var out: [String: Any] = ["ok": true, "op": "feat-image", "file": path,
+                              "vector": r.vector, "content": r.content,
+                              "ingest": ["node_type": "Observation", "tier": "Episodic", "content": r.content]]
+    r.extra.forEach { out[$0] = $1 }
+    emit(out)
+}
+
+// The afferent WIRE — hand a capture's descriptor to the ingest organ (engram),
+// where it becomes an embedded node = GEOMETRY. Own-core URLSession POST.
+// LOCAL only: point at a local engram; raw stream never leaves the machine.
+func postNode(engramURL: String, content: String, label: String, tags: [String]) -> String? {
+    guard let url = URL(string: engramURL + "/api/nodes") else { return nil }
+    let body: [String: Any] = ["content": content, "node_type": "Observation",
+                               "label": label, "tier": "Episodic",
+                               "salience": 0.7, "importance": 0.6, "confidence": 0.9,
+                               "tags": tags]
+    var req = URLRequest(url: url); req.httpMethod = "POST"
+    req.setValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")
+    req.httpBody = try? JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: body)
+    let sem = DispatchSemaphore(value: 0); var out: String?
+    URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: req) { data, _, _ in
+        if let d = data { out = String(data: d, encoding: .utf8) }
+        sem.signal()
+    }.resume()
+    _ = sem.wait(timeout: .now() + 15)
+    return out
+}
+func ingest(_ path: String, kind: String, engramURL: String) {
+    let r = kind == "audio" ? computeAudio(path) : computeImage(path)
+    let label = kind == "audio" ? "heard:mic" : "saw:camera"
+    disclose("INGEST: handing \(kind) descriptor to the ingest organ at \(engramURL) (LOCAL) -> geometry.")
+    guard let resp = postNode(engramURL: engramURL, content: r.content, label: label,
+                              tags: ["peripheral", kind == "audio" ? "afferent-mic" : "afferent-camera"]) else {
+        die("ingest POST failed (no local engram at \(engramURL)?)")
+    }
+    // pull the node id out of the response (own-core, tolerant)
+    var nodeId = ""
+    if let d = resp.data(using: .utf8),
+       let o = try? JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: d) as? [String: Any] {
+        nodeId = (o["id"] as? String) ?? (o["node_id"] as? String) ?? ""
+    }
+    disclose("INGEST: landed as node \(nodeId.isEmpty ? "(see response)" : nodeId) — the capture is now geometry in the engram.")
+    emit(["ok": !nodeId.isEmpty, "op": "ingest-\(kind)", "file": path,
+          "node_id": nodeId, "engram_response": resp, "content": r.content,
+          "vector": r.vector])
+}
+
+// ============================================================================
+// VOICE BY IMITATION — hear a voice, grab its compact SIGNATURE (pitch +
+// formants F1-F5 via LPC), and speak back in that voice by source-filter
+// resynthesis. Own-core DSP (physics), no training, no stolen voice. The
+// afferent twin of the music instrument-signature: a voice = a few dozen
+// numbers, not a corpus.
+// ============================================================================
+
+func hamming(_ x: [Double]) -> [Double] {
+    let n = x.count; if n < 2 { return x }
+    return (0..<n).map { x[$0] * (0.54 - 0.46*cos(2*Double.pi*Double($0)/Double(n-1))) }
+}
+func autocorr(_ x: [Double], _ p: Int) -> [Double] {
+    var r = [Double](repeating: 0, count: p+1)
+    for lag in 0...p { var s = 0.0; var i = lag; while i < x.count { s += x[i]*x[i-lag]; i += 1 }; r[lag] = s }
+    return r
+}
+// Levinson-Durbin -> LPC coeffs a[0..p] (A(z)=1+sum a[k]z^-k) and residual energy.
+func levinson(_ r: [Double], _ p: Int) -> (a: [Double], err: Double) {
+    var a = [Double](repeating: 0, count: p+1); a[0] = 1
+    var err = r[0]
+    if err <= 0 { return (a, 0) }
+    for i in 1...p {
+        var acc = r[i]
+        if i > 1 { for j in 1..<i { acc += a[j]*r[i-j] } }
+        let k = -acc/err
+        var na = a; na[i] = k
+        if i > 1 { for j in 1..<i { na[j] = a[j] + k*a[i-j] } }
+        a = na; err *= (1 - k*k)
+        if err <= 0 { break }
+    }
+    return (a, err)
+}
+// Formant peaks from the LPC all-pole spectral envelope.
+func formants(_ a: [Double], sr: Int) -> [(f: Double, bw: Double)] {
+    let p = a.count - 1
+    let steps = 512
+    var mag = [Double](repeating: 0, count: steps)
+    for s in 0..<steps {
+        let w = Double.pi * Double(s) / Double(steps)      // 0..pi -> 0..sr/2
+        var re = 0.0, im = 0.0
+        for k in 0...p { re += a[k]*cos(w*Double(k)); im -= a[k]*sin(w*Double(k)) }
+        mag[s] = 1.0 / max((re*re+im*im).squareRoot(), 1e-9)
+    }
+    var peaks: [(f: Double, bw: Double)] = []
+    for s in 1..<(steps-1) where mag[s] > mag[s-1] && mag[s] >= mag[s+1] {
+        let f = Double(s) * Double(sr) / 2 / Double(steps)
+        if f > 150 && f < 5200 {
+            // crude bandwidth: width where magnitude falls to peak/sqrt(2)
+            let thr = mag[s]/1.4142
+            var lo = s; while lo > 0 && mag[lo] > thr { lo -= 1 }
+            var hi = s; while hi < steps-1 && mag[hi] > thr { hi += 1 }
+            let bw = Double(hi-lo) * Double(sr) / 2 / Double(steps)
+            peaks.append((f, bw))
+        }
+    }
+    return Array(peaks.prefix(5))
+}
+func pitchOf(_ frame: [Double], sr: Int) -> Double {
+    let n = frame.count
+    let lagMin = sr/400, lagMax = min(sr/70, n-1)
+    if lagMax <= lagMin { return 0 }
+    var r0 = 0.0; for v in frame { r0 += v*v }
+    if r0 < 1e-5 { return 0 }
+    var bestLag = 0; var best = 0.0
+    for lag in lagMin...lagMax { var c = 0.0; var i = lag; while i < n { c += frame[i]*frame[i-lag]; i += 1 }; if c > best { best = c; bestLag = lag } }
+    return (best / r0 > 0.30 && bestLag > 0) ? Double(sr)/Double(bestLag) : 0   // voiced?
+}
+
+let LPC_ORDER = 16
+let FRAME = 400          // 25ms @16k
+let HOP = 160            // 10ms
+
+// Extract Will's voice-signature: averaged F0 + formants over voiced frames.
+func voiceprint(_ path: String) -> (f0: Double, f0lo: Double, f0hi: Double, formants: [(Double,Double)], content: String) {
+    guard let (x, sr, _) = readWavSamples(path), x.count > FRAME else { die("cannot read speech from \(path)") }
+    var f0s: [Double] = []
+    var fbank: [[Double]] = [[],[],[],[],[]]
+    var bbank: [[Double]] = [[],[],[],[],[]]
+    var pos = 0
+    while pos + FRAME <= x.count {
+        let raw = Array(x[pos..<pos+FRAME])
+        let f0 = pitchOf(raw, sr: sr)
+        if f0 > 0 {                                   // voiced frame only
+            f0s.append(f0)
+            let r = autocorr(hamming(raw), LPC_ORDER)
+            if r[0] > 1e-6 {
+                let (a, _) = levinson(r, LPC_ORDER)
+                let fs = formants(a, sr: sr)
+                for (i, fm) in fs.enumerated() where i < 5 { fbank[i].append(fm.f); bbank[i].append(fm.bw) }
+            }
+        }
+        pos += HOP
+    }
+    func med(_ v: [Double]) -> Double { v.isEmpty ? 0 : v.sorted()[v.count/2] }
+    let f0med = med(f0s)
+    let f0lo = f0s.isEmpty ? 0 : f0s.sorted().first!
+    let f0hi = f0s.isEmpty ? 0 : f0s.sorted().last!
+    var forms: [(Double,Double)] = []
+    for i in 0..<5 where !fbank[i].isEmpty { forms.append((med(fbank[i]), med(bbank[i]))) }
+    let fstr = forms.map { String(format:"%.0f", $0.0) }.joined(separator: "/")
+    let content = String(format:
+        "Voice-signature (afferent, heard a voice): pitch F0 %.0fHz (range %.0f-%.0fHz), " +
+        "formants F1-F5 = %@ Hz. Compact voiceprint (%d numbers) — grabbed by ear for imitation, not trained.",
+        f0med, f0lo, f0hi, fstr, 1 + forms.count*2)
+    return (f0med, f0lo, f0hi, forms, content)
+}
+
+// IMITATE: LPC analysis-resynthesis. Reconstruct the heard voice from its
+// per-frame filter model + pitch — the voice rebuilt from its signature.
+func imitate(inPath: String, outPath: String) {
+    guard let (x, sr, _) = readWavSamples(inPath), x.count > FRAME else { die("cannot read speech from \(inPath)") }
+    var out = [Double](repeating: 0, count: x.count)
+    var state = [Double](repeating: 0, count: LPC_ORDER)   // past outputs
+    var phase = 0.0
+    var lastF0 = 0.0
+    var pos = 0
+    while pos + FRAME <= x.count {
+        let raw = Array(x[pos..<pos+FRAME])
+        let r = autocorr(hamming(raw), LPC_ORDER)
+        let f0 = pitchOf(raw, sr: sr)
+        if r[0] < 1e-7 { pos += HOP; continue }
+        let (a, err) = levinson(r, LPC_ORDER)
+        let gain = max(err, 0).squareRoot()
+        let useF0 = f0 > 0 ? f0 : (lastF0 > 0 ? lastF0 : 0)
+        lastF0 = f0
+        for i in 0..<HOP {
+            let idx = pos + i; if idx >= x.count { break }
+            var e = 0.0
+            if useF0 > 0 {                              // voiced: glottal impulse train
+                phase += useF0/Double(sr)
+                if phase >= 1.0 { phase -= 1.0; e = sqrt(Double(sr)/useF0) }   // energy-normalized impulse
+            } else {                                    // unvoiced: noise
+                e = Double.random(in: -1...1)
+            }
+            var y = gain * e
+            for k in 1...LPC_ORDER { y -= a[k]*state[k-1] }
+            for k in stride(from: LPC_ORDER-1, through: 1, by: -1) { state[k] = state[k-1] }
+            state[0] = y
+            out[idx] = y
+        }
+        pos += HOP
+    }
+    // normalize to peak 0.9
+    let peak = out.map { abs($0) }.max() ?? 1
+    let scale = peak > 1e-9 ? 0.9/peak : 1
+    let samples = out.map { Int16(max(-32767, min(32767, $0*scale*32767))) }
+    writeWav(URL(fileURLWithPath: outPath), samples: samples, sampleRate: sr)
+    let vp = voiceprint(inPath)
+    disclose(String(format: "IMITATE: rebuilt the voice from its signature (F0 %.0fHz, formants %@) -> %@",
+                    vp.f0, vp.formants.map{String(format:"%.0f",$0.0)}.joined(separator:"/"), outPath))
+    emit(["ok": true, "op": "imitate", "in": inPath, "out": outPath,
+          "f0_hz": vp.f0, "f0_range": [vp.f0lo, vp.f0hi],
+          "formants_hz": vp.formants.map { $0.0 },
+          "method": "LPC analysis-resynthesis (own-core, no training, no stolen voice)"])
+}
+
+// ============================================================================
+// CONVERSE (full-duplex) — the interruptible conversational loop.
+//   The utterance is a persistent, ordered meaning-plan of SEGMENTS, each with
+//   a salience. The speaker plays them; the mic listens concurrently. On user
+//   speech: pause INSTANTLY, classify (backchannel vs barge-in), then DECIDE
+//   yield-or-hold from the salience of the current segment + the social read.
+//   Yielded utterances persist their remaining plan so Neuron can RESUME.
+// ============================================================================
+struct Segment { let file: String; let salience: Double; let text: String }
+
+enum Decision { case backchannelContinue, hold, yield }
+
+// The yield-or-hold DECISION — grounded, contextual. Not a fixed rule.
+func decide(currentSalience: Double, progress: Double,
+            interrupterAuthority: Double, isBackchannel: Bool) -> Decision {
+    if isBackchannel { return .backchannelContinue }          // "mm-hm" => keep going
+    // Holding the floor is justified when what I'm saying matters AND I'm nearly
+    // done (cheap to finish) AND the interrupter isn't high-priority.
+    let holdScore = currentSalience * 0.6 + progress * 0.4
+    if holdScore >= 0.6 && interrupterAuthority < 0.8 { return .hold }
+    return .yield                                              // default: be polite, let them in
+}
+
+final class Conversation {
+    let engine = AVAudioEngine()
+    let player = AVAudioPlayerNode()
+    var micLive = false
+    // VAD state (shared with the audio tap thread)
+    let lock = NSLock()
+    var micRMS: Float = 0
+    var speechFrames = 0          // consecutive above-threshold frames
+    var onsetHandled = false
+
+    let resumePath: String
+    init(resumePath: String) { self.resumePath = resumePath }
+
+    // Try to bring the mic up as a live VAD. Returns false if unavailable/denied.
+    func startMic() -> Bool {
+        let status = AVCaptureDevice.authorizationStatus(for: .audio)
+        if Consent.load()["mic"] != true || status != .authorized {
+            disclose("CONVERSE: live mic not available (consent/OS) — using injected barge events for the proof.")
+            return false
+        }
+        let input = engine.inputNode
+        // Acoustic echo cancellation: the OS voice-processing unit subtracts our
+        // own speaker output from the mic so Neuron does NOT hear itself and
+        // barge in on its own voice. This is what makes real-room barge-in work.
+        do { try input.setVoiceProcessingEnabled(true); disclose("CONVERSE: AEC on (echo-cancelled mic — won't self-interrupt).") }
+        catch { disclose("CONVERSE: AEC unavailable (\(error)); raising VAD floor instead.") }
+        let fmt = input.inputFormat(forBus: 0)
+        if fmt.sampleRate == 0 { return false }
+        input.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 1024, format: fmt) { [weak self] buf, _ in
+            guard let self = self, let ch = buf.floatChannelData?[0] else { return }
+            let n = Int(buf.frameLength)
+            var sum: Float = 0
+            for i in 0..<n { let v = ch[i]; sum += v*v }
+            let rms = n > 0 ? (sum / Float(n)).squareRoot() : 0
+            self.lock.lock(); self.micRMS = rms; self.lock.unlock()
+        }
+        micLive = true
+        disclose("CONVERSE: full-duplex — mic listening WHILE speaking (barge-in armed).")
+        return true
+    }
+
+    func run(_ segs: [Segment], interrupterAuthority: Double,
+             injectBargeAt: Double?, injectKind: String, startIndex: Int, liveMic: Bool) {
+        engine.attach(player)
+        let firstFmt = (try? AVAudioFile(forReading: URL(fileURLWithPath: segs[startIndex].file)))?.processingFormat
+            ?? AVAudioFormat(standardFormatWithSampleRate: 16000, channels: 1)!
+        engine.connect(player, to: engine.mainMixerNode, format: firstFmt)
+        if liveMic { _ = startMic() }
+        else { disclose("CONVERSE: deterministic mode (live mic off) — barge events \(injectBargeAt != nil ? "injected" : "none").") }
+        do { try engine.start() } catch { die("audio engine failed to start: \(error)") }
+        player.play()
+
+        let injectDeadline = injectBargeAt.map { Date().addingTimeInterval($0) }
+        var injectedFired = false
+        var idx = startIndex
+
+        segmentLoop: while idx < segs.count {
+            let seg = segs[idx]
+            guard let f = try? AVAudioFile(forReading: URL(fileURLWithPath: seg.file)) else {
+                disclose("CONVERSE: missing segment '\(seg.file)', skipping."); idx += 1; continue
+            }
+            let dur = Double(f.length) / f.processingFormat.sampleRate
+            disclose(String(format: "CONVERSE: speaking segment %d/%d (salience %.2f) — \"%@\"",
+                            idx+1, segs.count, seg.salience, seg.text))
+            emit(["op": "converse", "event": "speaking", "segment": idx,
+                  "salience": seg.salience, "text": seg.text])
+
+            let done = DispatchSemaphore(value: 0)
+            // .dataPlayedBack: completion fires only after the audio has actually
+            // played OUT the DAC (not merely been consumed) — so the tail is never
+            // clipped and playback always runs the FULL file length.
+            player.scheduleFile(f, at: nil, completionCallbackType: .dataPlayedBack) { _ in done.signal() }
+            player.play()
+
+            // Monitor this segment: poll VAD / injected event until it finishes.
+            let segStart = Date()
+            while done.wait(timeout: .now() + 0.02) == .timedOut {
+                let elapsed = Date().timeIntervalSince(segStart)
+                let progress = min(elapsed / max(dur, 0.001), 1.0)
+
+                // --- detect an onset (live mic OR injected) ---
+                var onset = false
+                if micLive {
+                    lock.lock(); let rms = micRMS; lock.unlock()
+                    if rms > 0.02 { speechFrames += 1 } else { speechFrames = 0 }
+                    if speechFrames >= 3 && !onsetHandled { onset = true }   // ~60ms of voice
+                }
+                if let dl = injectDeadline, !injectedFired, Date() >= dl, !onsetHandled { onset = true; injectedFired = true }
+
+                if onset {
+                    onsetHandled = true
+                    // (1) BARGE-IN: pause INSTANTLY, on the spot.
+                    player.pause()
+                    let tBarge = Date().timeIntervalSince(segStart)
+                    disclose(String(format: "CONVERSE: << user speech at %.2fs into segment %d — PAUSED instantly >>", tBarge, idx+1))
+                    emit(["op": "converse", "event": "barge_in", "segment": idx,
+                          "at_seconds": tBarge, "progress": progress])
+
+                    // (2) classify backchannel vs real barge-in
+                    let isBackchannel = classifyBackchannel(injected: injectDeadline != nil,
+                                                            kind: injectKind)
+                    let d = decide(currentSalience: seg.salience, progress: progress,
+                                   interrupterAuthority: interrupterAuthority,
+                                   isBackchannel: isBackchannel)
+                    switch d {
+                    case .backchannelContinue:
+                        disclose("CONVERSE: read as BACKCHANNEL (\"mm-hm\") — keep going, resume seamlessly.")
+                        emit(["op": "converse", "event": "backchannel_continue", "segment": idx])
+                        onsetHandled = false; speechFrames = 0
+                        player.play()                                   // seamless resume
+                    case .hold:
+                        disclose("CONVERSE: HOLD the floor — \"hang on, let me finish this thought.\" (high salience, nearly done)")
+                        emit(["op": "converse", "event": "hold_floor", "segment": idx,
+                              "salience": seg.salience, "progress": progress])
+                        onsetHandled = false; speechFrames = 0
+                        player.play()                                   // finish the segment, THEN yield
+                        // after this segment completes we yield the remainder
+                        _ = done.wait(timeout: .now() + dur + 1.0)
+                        persistResume(segs: segs, from: idx + 1, reason: "held-then-yield")
+                        finish(); return
+                    case .yield:
+                        disclose("CONVERSE: YIELD — stop, let them in. Remembering where I was (resumable).")
+                        player.stop()
+                        persistResume(segs: segs, from: idx, reason: "yield")
+                        emit(["op": "converse", "event": "yield", "interrupted_segment": idx,
+                              "resume_from": idx])
+                        finish(); return
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            emit(["op": "converse", "event": "segment_done", "segment": idx])
+            idx += 1
+        }
+        // whole utterance completed uninterrupted
+        clearResume()
+        disclose("CONVERSE: utterance complete (uninterrupted).")
+        emit(["ok": true, "op": "converse", "event": "complete", "segments": segs.count])
+        finish()
+    }
+
+    // A backchannel is brief/low. Injected kind lets us prove both paths headlessly;
+    // the live path would measure post-onset duration & energy.
+    func classifyBackchannel(injected: Bool, kind: String) -> Bool {
+        if injected { return kind == "backchannel" }
+        // live: sample ~250ms after onset; if speech already died away, it was a backchannel
+        Thread.sleep(forTimeInterval: 0.25)
+        lock.lock(); let rms = micRMS; lock.unlock()
+        return rms < 0.015
+    }
+
+    func persistResume(segs: [Segment], from: Int, reason: String) {
+        let remaining = segs[from...].map { ["file": $0.file, "salience": $0.salience, "text": $0.text] as [String: Any] }
+        let state: [String: Any] = ["resume_from": from, "reason": reason,
+                                    "remaining": remaining, "ts": Date().timeIntervalSince1970]
+        if let d = try? JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: state, options: [.prettyPrinted]) {
+            try? d.write(to: URL(fileURLWithPath: resumePath))
+        }
+        disclose("CONVERSE: meaning-plan persisted (\(remaining.count) segments remain) — Neuron can resume the thread.")
+    }
+    func clearResume() { try? FileManager.default.removeItem(atPath: resumePath) }
+    func finish() { player.stop(); if micLive { engine.inputNode.removeTap(onBus: 0) }; engine.stop() }
+}
+
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// CLI
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+func loadManifest(_ path: String) -> (segs: [Segment], utterance: String) {
+    guard let d = FileManager.default.contents(atPath: path),
+          let o = try? JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: d) as? [String: Any],
+          let arr = o["segments"] as? [[String: Any]] else { die("bad manifest: \(path)") }
+    let segs = arr.map { Segment(file: $0["file"] as? String ?? "",
+                                 salience: ($0["salience"] as? NSNumber)?.doubleValue ?? 0.5,
+                                 text: $0["text"] as? String ?? "") }
+    return (segs, o["utterance"] as? String ?? "")
+}
+
+let args = CommandLine.arguments
+guard args.count >= 2 else {
+    print("""
+    periph — Neuron peripheral I/O (own-core, local, consent-gated)
+      grant <camera|mic>            grant a sensitive sense (Neuron-level consent)
+      revoke <camera|mic>           revoke it
+      status                        show consent state
+      speak <file.wav>              SPEAK ALOUD (efferent) via the speaker
+      tone <out.wav> [hz] [sec]     own-core synth a test WAV (no deps)
+      listen <sec> <out.wav>        MIC capture (afferent) 16k mono
+      see <out.jpg>                 CAMERA one frame (afferent)
+      feat-audio <file.wav>         extract compact voice/sound signature (for ingest)
+      feat-image <file.jpg>         extract compact scene-geometry (for ingest)
+      ingest-audio <file.wav> <engramURL>   capture -> descriptor -> engram node (geometry)
+      ingest-image <file.jpg> <engramURL>   capture -> descriptor -> engram node (geometry)
+      voiceprint <voice.wav>        extract voice-signature (F0 + formants F1-F5)
+      imitate <voice.wav> <out.wav> speak back in that voice (LPC analysis-resynthesis)
+      hear-imitate <sec> <out.wav>  MIC -> extract signature -> imitate -> SPEAK ALOUD
+      wav-info <file.wav>           print WAV geometry
+      converse <manifest.json> [--authority F] [--barge-at S[:backchannel|:bargein]] [--resume]
+                                    full-duplex interruptible utterance
+    """)
+    exit(0)
+}
+
+switch args[1] {
+case "grant":
+    guard args.count >= 3 else { die("grant needs a device") }
+    var g = Consent.load(); g[args[2]] = true; Consent.save(g)
+    disclose("granted '\(args[2])' — the user consents; raw stream stays local, never egresses.")
+    emit(["ok": true, "op": "grant", "device": args[2], "consent": g])
+case "revoke":
+    guard args.count >= 3 else { die("revoke needs a device") }
+    var g = Consent.load(); g[args[2]] = false; Consent.save(g)
+    emit(["ok": true, "op": "revoke", "device": args[2], "consent": g])
+case "status":
+    emit(["ok": true, "op": "status", "consent": Consent.load()])
+case "speak":
+    guard args.count >= 3 else { die("speak needs a wav") }
+    speak(args[2])
+case "tone":
+    guard args.count >= 3 else { die("tone needs an out path") }
+    let hz = args.count >= 4 ? Double(args[3]) ?? 220 : 220
+    let sec = args.count >= 5 ? Double(args[4]) ?? 1.0 : 1.0
+    let sr = 16000
+    var s = [Int16](); s.reserveCapacity(Int(Double(sr)*sec))
+    for i in 0..<Int(Double(sr)*sec) {
+        let t = Double(i)/Double(sr)
+        let env = min(1.0, min(t*20, (sec - t)*20))          // gentle attack/release
+        s.append(Int16(env * 0.3 * 32767 * sin(2*Double.pi*hz*t)))
+    }
+    writeWav(URL(fileURLWithPath: args[2]), samples: s, sampleRate: sr)
+    disclose("tone: wrote own-core \(sec)s @ \(hz)Hz WAV to \(args[2]).")
+    emit(["ok": true, "op": "tone", "file": args[2], "hz": hz, "seconds": sec])
+case "listen":
+    guard args.count >= 4 else { die("listen needs <sec> <out.wav>") }
+    listen(seconds: Double(args[2]) ?? 3.0, out: args[3])
+case "see":
+    guard args.count >= 3 else { die("see needs an out path") }
+    see(out: args[2])
+case "feat-audio":
+    guard args.count >= 3 else { die("feat-audio needs a wav") }
+    featAudio(args[2])
+case "feat-image":
+    guard args.count >= 3 else { die("feat-image needs an image") }
+    featImage(args[2])
+case "ingest-audio":
+    guard args.count >= 4 else { die("ingest-audio needs <wav> <engramURL>") }
+    ingest(args[2], kind: "audio", engramURL: args[3])
+case "ingest-image":
+    guard args.count >= 4 else { die("ingest-image needs <image> <engramURL>") }
+    ingest(args[2], kind: "image", engramURL: args[3])
+case "voiceprint":
+    guard args.count >= 3 else { die("voiceprint needs a wav") }
+    let vp = voiceprint(args[2])
+    disclose("VOICEPRINT: \(vp.content)")
+    emit(["ok": true, "op": "voiceprint", "file": args[2], "f0_hz": vp.f0,
+          "f0_range": [vp.f0lo, vp.f0hi], "formants_hz": vp.formants.map { $0.0 },
+          "bandwidths_hz": vp.formants.map { $0.1 }, "content": vp.content,
+          "ingest": ["node_type": "Observation", "tier": "Episodic", "content": vp.content]])
+case "imitate":
+    guard args.count >= 4 else { die("imitate needs <voice.wav> <out.wav>") }
+    imitate(inPath: args[2], outPath: args[3])
+case "hear-imitate":
+    guard args.count >= 4 else { die("hear-imitate needs <sec> <out.wav>") }
+    let secs = Double(args[2]) ?? 4.0
+    let outp = args[3]
+    let capp = outp.replacingOccurrences(of: ".wav", with: "") + ".heard.wav"
+    disclose("HEAR-IMITATE: open the ear, listen \(secs)s, grab the voice, speak it back.")
+    listen(seconds: secs, out: capp)                 // afferent: hear the voice
+    imitate(inPath: capp, outPath: outp)             // extract signature + resynthesize
+    speak(outp)                                      // efferent: speak back ALOUD in that voice
+case "wav-info":
+    guard args.count >= 3, let i = wavInfo(args[2]) else { die("wav-info needs a readable wav") }
+    disclose("WAV \(args[2]): \(i.sampleRate)Hz \(i.channels)ch \(i.bits)bit \(i.frames) frames")
+    emit(["ok": true, "op": "wav-info", "sample_rate": i.sampleRate, "channels": i.channels,
+          "bits": i.bits, "frames": i.frames,
+          "seconds": Double(i.frames)/Double(max(i.sampleRate,1))])
+case "converse":
+    guard args.count >= 3 else { die("converse needs a manifest") }
+    let (segs, utter) = loadManifest(args[2])
+    var authority = 0.5
+    var bargeAt: Double? = nil
+    var bargeKind = "bargein"
+    var resume = false
+    var liveMic = false
+    var i = 3
+    while i < args.count {
+        switch args[i] {
+        case "--authority": if i+1 < args.count { authority = Double(args[i+1]) ?? 0.5; i += 1 }
+        case "--barge-at":
+            if i+1 < args.count {
+                let parts = args[i+1].split(separator: ":")
+                bargeAt = Double(parts[0]) ?? nil
+                if parts.count > 1 { bargeKind = String(parts[1]) }
+                i += 1
+            }
+        case "--resume": resume = true
+        case "--live-mic": liveMic = true
+        default: break
+        }
+        i += 1
+    }
+    let resumePath = (ProcessInfo.processInfo.environment["PERIPH_HOME"]
+        ?? FileManager.default.currentDirectoryPath + "/peripheral") + "/.resume.json"
+    var startIndex = 0
+    var runSegs = segs
+    if resume, let d = FileManager.default.contents(atPath: resumePath),
+       let o = try? JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: d) as? [String: Any],
+       let rem = o["remaining"] as? [[String: Any]] {
+        runSegs = rem.map { Segment(file: $0["file"] as? String ?? "",
+                                    salience: ($0["salience"] as? NSNumber)?.doubleValue ?? 0.5,
+                                    text: $0["text"] as? String ?? "") }
+        startIndex = 0
+        disclose("CONVERSE: resuming — \"as I was saying...\" (\(runSegs.count) segments left).")
+        emit(["op": "converse", "event": "resume", "remaining": runSegs.count])
+    }
+    if runSegs.isEmpty { die("no segments to speak") }
+    disclose("CONVERSE: utterance = \"\(utter)\" (\(runSegs.count) segments).")
+    let convo = Conversation(resumePath: resumePath)
+    convo.run(runSegs, interrupterAuthority: authority,
+              injectBargeAt: bargeAt, injectKind: bargeKind, startIndex: startIndex, liveMic: liveMic)
+default:
+    die("unknown command: \(args[1])")
+}