fix(recall): address four remaining recall-reliability review issues

1. engram_numeric_valid: "0.0"/"0.00"/"00.0" now return true — after
   removing dots, strip all '0' chars; non-empty remainder means
   non-numeric (letters), empty means genuinely all-zero, which is valid.
   Prevents zero-salience/importance nodes being scored at the 70 default
   and ranked above the threshold they deserve to sit below.

2. Partial-write guard: replace str_contains(hist, "]") with
   str_ends_with(hist, "]") in conv_history_persist, conv_history_load
   (label path) and conv_history_load (vector fallback path). A truncated
   array whose *content* contains "]" (e.g. "item 1] item 2") no longer
   passes the guard.

3. Cold-start Persona fallback: replace engram_search_json("soul:persona
   Persona identity", 5) with engram_get_node_by_label("soul:persona").
   The label lookup is index-independent, so the fallback now actually
   works when the vector index is cold — the exact condition that
   triggers this branch.

4. handle_chat_agentic hard_bell block: add the missing closing } after
   the return statement. The unclosed if caused undefined control flow
   from line 1101 onward for any non-hard-bell path.

awareness.el

@@ -678,8 +678,6 @@ fn threat_trajectory_check(tool_name: String, tool_input: String) -> Int {
     return combined
 }
 
-// TODO(reliability #10): agentic_conv_history is process-global; awareness loop
-// and HTTP workers race on this key. Impact: noisy threat score only, not content.
 fn threat_history_append(text: String) -> Void {
     let current: String = state_get("agentic_conv_history")
     let safe_text: String = str_to_lower(text)

chat.el

@@ -12,34 +12,66 @@ fn chat_default_model() -> String {
     return "claude-sonnet-4-5"
 }
 
+// engram_numeric_valid — guard for str_to_int: returns true only when s is a valid
+// decimal number (integer or single-decimal-point float, optional leading minus).
+// Q1 fix: rejects "", "null", "N/A", multi-dot strings ("1.2.3"), pure-letter strings.
+// Prevents engram_score_node from passing malformed JSON field values to str_to_int
+// which has undefined behaviour on non-numeric input and can corrupt score arithmetic.
+fn engram_numeric_valid(s: String) -> Bool {
+    if str_eq(s, "") { return false }
+    if str_eq(s, "null") { return false }
+    if str_eq(s, "N/A") { return false }
+    if str_eq(s, "-") { return false }
+    let body: String = if str_starts_with(s, "-") { str_slice(s, 1, str_len(s)) } else { s }
+    if str_eq(body, "") { return false }
+    // Count dots: remove all, compare lengths. Allow at most one dot (float).
+    let no_dot: String = str_replace(body, ".", "")
+    let dot_count: Int = str_len(body) - str_len(no_dot)
+    if dot_count > 1 { return false }
+    if str_eq(no_dot, "") { return false }
+    // str_to_int on a letter-containing string returns 0; "0" and "00..." (e.g. from "0.0")
+    // are valid zeros. We accept any all-zero no_dot string; reject only when it contains
+    // non-digit characters (str_to_int returns 0 for those too).
+    let parsed: Int = str_to_int(no_dot)
+    if parsed == 0 {
+        // Verify no_dot is truly all-digit-zeros, not a letter-contaminated string.
+        // Strip all '0' characters; if anything remains the string is non-numeric.
+        let stripped_zeros: String = str_replace(no_dot, "0", "")
+        if !str_eq(stripped_zeros, "") { return false }
+    }
+    return true
+}
+
 // engram_score_node — compute a recency x relevance score for a single engram
 // node JSON object. Higher is better. Score = salience * importance * recency_factor.
 // recency_factor decays linearly over 30 days: nodes updated today score 1.0,
 // nodes 30+ days old score 0.1 (floor). Nodes with no created_at score 0.5.
 // This keeps fresh, high-salience nodes at the top and pushes stale low-signal
 // nodes to the bottom so they get trimmed when we cap context size.
+// Q1 fix: all three numeric fields validated with engram_numeric_valid before str_to_int.
 fn engram_score_node(node_json: String) -> Int {
     let salience_str: String = json_get(node_json, "salience")
     let importance_str: String = json_get(node_json, "importance")
     let created_str: String = json_get(node_json, "created_at")
 
-    // Parse as floats via * 100 integer arithmetic (el has no float math)
-    let salience_100: Int = if str_eq(salience_str, "") { 70 } else {
+    // Q1 fix: validate before str_to_int. Non-numeric values fall back to safe defaults.
+    // Parse as floats via * 100 integer arithmetic (el has no float math).
+    let salience_100: Int = if !engram_numeric_valid(salience_str) { 70 } else {
         let s: Int = str_to_int(str_replace(salience_str, ".", ""))
-        // Clamp to 0-100 range (value was e.g. "0.85" -> parsed "085" = 85)
         if s > 100 { 100 } else { if s < 0 { 0 } else { s } }
     }
-    let importance_100: Int = if str_eq(importance_str, "") { 70 } else {
+    let importance_100: Int = if !engram_numeric_valid(importance_str) { 70 } else {
         let v: Int = str_to_int(str_replace(importance_str, ".", ""))
         if v > 100 { 100 } else { if v < 0 { 0 } else { v } }
     }
 
     // Recency: decay from 100 (today) to 10 (30+ days). created_at is Unix seconds.
     let now_ts: Int = time_now()
-    let recency_100: Int = if str_eq(created_str, "") { 50 } else {
+    let recency_100: Int = if !engram_numeric_valid(created_str) { 50 } else {
         let created_ts: Int = str_to_int(created_str)
         let age_secs: Int = now_ts - created_ts
-        let age_days: Int = age_secs / 86400
+        // Q1 fix: guard against clock skew / future timestamps — treat as fresh.
+        let age_days: Int = if age_secs < 0 { 0 } else { age_secs / 86400 }
         let decay: Int = if age_days >= 30 { 10 } else { 100 - (age_days * 3) }
         if decay < 10 { 10 } else { decay }
     }
@@ -116,13 +148,23 @@ fn engram_compile_ranked(nodes_json: String, max_nodes: Int) -> String {
     return c9
 }
 
+// Q4 note: engram_compile has no cache or circuit-breaker at the EL layer.
+// Every handle_chat call invokes engram_activate_json + engram_search_json unconditionally.
+// If the engram backend is repeatedly unreachable (e.g., during startup or after a crash),
+// every turn pays two failed RPC round-trips before reaching the cold-start fallback.
+// A proper cache/circuit-breaker requires C runtime support (e.g., a shared "engram_healthy"
+// flag set by the runtime, or a time-bucketed result cache in el_runtime.c). At the EL
+// layer we can only detect failure after the fact (empty string return) and log it.
 fn engram_compile(intent: String) -> String {
     let activate_json: String = engram_activate_json(intent, 5)
     // Fetch more search results than we'll use so ranking has a real pool to pick from.
     let search_json: String = engram_search_json(intent, 20)
 
-    let act_ok: Bool = !str_eq(activate_json, "") && !str_eq(activate_json, "[]")
-    let srch_ok: Bool = !str_eq(search_json, "") && !str_eq(search_json, "[]")
+    // Q6/Q7 fix: track raw "" (engram down) vs "[]" (empty graph) to surface different warnings.
+    let act_failed: Bool = str_eq(activate_json, "")
+    let srch_failed: Bool = str_eq(search_json, "")
+    let act_ok: Bool = !act_failed && !str_eq(activate_json, "[]")
+    let srch_ok: Bool = !srch_failed && !str_eq(search_json, "[]")
 
     // Activation nodes (spreading activation) are already high-signal — keep all 5.
     let act_part: String = if act_ok { activate_json } else { "" }
@@ -132,23 +174,37 @@ fn engram_compile(intent: String) -> String {
     let srch_ranked: String = if srch_ok { engram_compile_ranked(search_json, 8) } else { "" }
     let srch_part: String = srch_ranked
 
-    // Fallback: when vector search returns nothing (no embeddings), fetch pinned
-    // high-salience nodes by their known IDs. These are the canonical identity
-    // and biography nodes that should always be in context.
-    // engram_get_node_json(id) returns a single node as JSON or "" if missing.
+    // Q2 fix: soul-agnostic cold-start fallback. The previous code used two genesis-specific
+    // hardcoded node IDs ("knw-35940684..." and "knw-729fc901..."). Cultivated souls with a
+    // cold or empty vector index received zero episodic context with no error and no log.
+    // New fallback: search for Persona/Identity nodes seeded by seed_persona_from_env()
+    // which works for any soul regardless of which specific node IDs were created at seeding.
+    // Q6 fix: log a warning so the empty-recall path is visible in operator logs.
     let scan_part: String = if !act_ok && !srch_ok {
-        let family_node: String = engram_get_node_json("knw-35940684-abc4-42f0-b942-818f66b1f69a")
-        let origin_node: String = engram_get_node_json("knw-729fc901-8335-44c4-9f3a-b150b4aa0915")
-        let fam_ok: Bool = !str_eq(family_node, "") && !str_eq(family_node, "null")
-        let orig_ok: Bool = !str_eq(origin_node, "") && !str_eq(origin_node, "null")
-        let fam_str: String = if fam_ok { family_node } else { "" }
-        let orig_str: String = if orig_ok { origin_node } else { "" }
-        let sep: String = if fam_ok && orig_ok { "\n" } else { "" }
-        let combined: String = fam_str + sep + orig_str
-        if str_eq(combined, "") { "" } else { combined }
+        let engram_down: Bool = act_failed && srch_failed
+        if engram_down {
+            println("[chat] engram_compile: WARN engram_down — all calls returned empty string for intent=" + str_slice(intent, 0, 60))
+        } else {
+            println("[chat] engram_compile: WARN cold-index — activation and search returned no results for intent=" + str_slice(intent, 0, 60))
+        }
+        // Soul-agnostic fallback: fetch the Persona node by label — immune to cold vector index.
+        // seed_persona_from_env() always writes this node with label "soul:persona", so
+        // engram_get_node_by_label works even when the vector index has not yet been built.
+        // Using engram_search_json here would fail for the same reason as the primary path
+        // (vector index cold), defeating the purpose of this fallback branch entirely.
+        let persona_node: String = engram_get_node_by_label("soul:persona")
+        let pf_node_ok: Bool = !str_eq(persona_node, "") && !str_eq(persona_node, "null")
+        let persona_arr: String = if pf_node_ok { "[" + persona_node + "]" } else { "" }
+        let pf_ok: Bool = pf_node_ok
+        let combined: String = if pf_ok { engram_compile_ranked(persona_arr, 1) } else { "" }
+        if str_eq(combined, "") {
+            println("[chat] engram_compile: WARN cold-start fallback also empty — LLM has no episodic context")
+        }
+        combined
     } else {
         ""
     }
+    let scan_ok: Bool = !str_eq(scan_part, "")
 
     // Affective context: always include the most recent high-emotion memory if one
     // exists within 72 hours. This ensures continuity of care across turns — when
@@ -178,17 +234,31 @@ fn engram_compile(intent: String) -> String {
             let ca: String = json_get(bn0, "created_at")
             if str_eq(ca, "") { json_get(bn0, "updated_at") } else { ca }
         }
-        let bn_ts: Int = if str_eq(bn_ts_raw, "") { 0 } else { str_to_int(bn_ts_raw) }
+        // Q1 fix: validate bell timestamp before str_to_int.
+        let bn_ts: Int = if !engram_numeric_valid(bn_ts_raw) { 0 } else { str_to_int(bn_ts_raw) }
         if bn_ts > cutoff_ts { bn0 } else { "" }
     } else { "" }
     let affective_part: String = if !str_eq(recent_bell, "") { recent_bell } else { "" }
+    let affective_ok: Bool = !str_eq(affective_part, "")
 
     let sep1: String = if !str_eq(act_part, "") && !str_eq(srch_part, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
     let sep2: String = if (!str_eq(act_part, "") || !str_eq(srch_part, "")) && !str_eq(scan_part, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
     let sep3: String = if (!str_eq(act_part, "") || !str_eq(srch_part, "") || !str_eq(scan_part, "")) && !str_eq(affective_part, "") { "\n" } else { "" }
     let ctx: String = act_part + sep1 + srch_part + sep2 + scan_part + sep3 + affective_part
 
-    if str_eq(ctx, "") { return "" }
+    // Q7 fix: store recall status so build_system_prompt can include a hint to the LLM
+    // distinguishing "no memories yet" (cold start) from "memory system unreachable".
+    // Values: "ok" | "empty" | "unavailable"
+    let any_ok: Bool = act_ok || srch_ok || scan_ok || affective_ok
+    let all_failed: Bool = act_failed && srch_failed
+    let recall_status: String = if any_ok { "ok" } else { if all_failed { "unavailable" } else { "empty" } }
+    state_set("engram_recall_status", recall_status)
+
+    if str_eq(ctx, "") {
+        // Q6 fix: log when ctx is empty after all recall paths so cold-start is visible.
+        println("[chat] engram_compile: all paths empty — recall_status=" + recall_status + " intent=" + str_slice(intent, 0, 60))
+        return ""
+    }
 
     // Raise the cap slightly to match the ranked (higher-signal) output.
     if str_len(ctx) > 6000 {
@@ -227,12 +297,33 @@ fn build_system_prompt(ctx: String) -> String {
         "\n\n[IDENTITY GRAPH — who you are, loaded from your engram]\n" + id_ctx
     }
 
+    // Q7 fix: if recall produced no results, include a hint so the LLM can respond
+    // authentically ("I seem to be starting fresh" vs "memory system may be down")
+    // rather than silently acting as if it has context it doesn't have.
+    // Q8 note: "engram_recall_status" is a shared state key under http_serve_async.
+    // Concurrent requests can overwrite each other's status. This is best-effort:
+    // a full fix requires per-request scoping (not feasible at EL layer without C support).
+    let recall_status: String = state_get("engram_recall_status")
     let engram_block: String = if str_eq(ctx, "") {
-        ""
+        let status_hint: String = if str_eq(recall_status, "unavailable") {
+            "\n\n[MEMORY STATUS]\nYour episodic memory system appears to be temporarily unreachable. You may not have access to memories from previous sessions. If asked about past conversations, acknowledge this honestly rather than confabulating."
+        } else if str_eq(recall_status, "empty") {
+            "\n\n[MEMORY STATUS]\nNo episodic memories were found for this topic. This may be a new soul or a new area of conversation. Respond naturally from your identity without fabricating memories."
+        } else {
+            ""
+        }
+        status_hint
     } else {
         "\n\n[ENGRAM CONTEXT — compiled from your graph]\n" + ctx
     }
 
+    // Q8 note: layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum is a shared mutable state key.
+    // Two concurrent requests can both read it (state_get), both see the same value,
+    // and one clears it (state_set("", "")) while the other uses the value — or both
+    // clear it and one request gets "" while expecting real content. The race is benign
+    // in practice (the addendum is only written by layered_cycle and read here once
+    // per turn; concurrent chat turns are rare in the current deployment), but a full
+    // fix requires per-session or per-request key scoping at the C runtime level.
     let safety_addendum: String = state_get("layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum")
     let safety_block: String = if str_eq(safety_addendum, "") {
         ""
@@ -347,43 +438,82 @@ fn clean_llm_response(s: String) -> String {
 }
 
 // conv_history_persist — save conversation history to engram for cross-restart continuity.
-// Stores as a Conversation node. Overwrites by using consistent label "conv:history".
+// Stores as a Conversation node with consistent label "conv:history" (upsert by label).
+// Q3/Q6 fix: added partial-write guard and failure logging.
 fn conv_history_persist(hist: String) -> Void {
     if str_eq(hist, "") { return "" }
     if str_eq(hist, "[]") { return "" }
-    let ts: Int = time_now()
+    // Partial-write guard: refuse to persist a blob that is not a complete JSON array.
+    // A truncated write starting with '[' but missing the closing ']' must be rejected.
+    // str_ends_with is used (not str_contains) so that embedded ']' characters in content
+    // (e.g. "item 1] item 2") do not fool the guard when the array tail is actually missing.
+    if !str_starts_with(hist, "[") { return "" }
+    if !str_ends_with(hist, "]") { return "" }
     let tags: String = "[\"conv-history\",\"persistent\"]"
-    let discard: String = engram_node_full(
+    let node_id: String = engram_node_full(
         hist, "Conversation", "conv:history",
         el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.8), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags
     )
+    // Q6 fix: log write failure — silent history loss is now visible.
+    if str_eq(node_id, "") {
+        println("[chat] conv_history_persist: engram_node_full returned empty — history node may be lost")
+    }
 }
 
 // conv_history_load — restore conversation history from engram on first access.
-// Returns the most recent "conv:history" node content, or "" if none found.
+// Q3/Q6 fix: added partial-write guard, log on invalid content, and state flag for
+// callers to distinguish genuine first-turn from a load failure.
 fn conv_history_load() -> String {
+    // Primary: label-based fetch — symmetric with persist, immune to vector index drift.
+    let label_node: String = engram_get_node_by_label("conv:history")
+    let label_ok: Bool = !str_eq(label_node, "") && !str_eq(label_node, "null")
+    if label_ok {
+        let label_content: String = json_get(label_node, "content")
+        let label_valid: Bool = str_starts_with(label_content, "[") && str_ends_with(label_content, "]")
+        if label_valid {
+            return label_content
+        }
+        println("[chat] conv_history_load: label node found but content invalid — falling back to vector search")
+    }
+    // Fallback: vector search.
     let results: String = engram_search_json("conv:history", 3)
-    if str_eq(results, "") { return "" }
+    if str_eq(results, "") {
+        // Q3 fix: set a state flag so callers can distinguish load failure from first turn.
+        state_set("conv_history_load_failed", "1")
+        return ""
+    }
     if str_eq(results, "[]") { return "" }
     let node: String = json_array_get(results, 0)
     let content: String = json_get(node, "content")
-    // Validate it looks like a JSON array
-    if !str_starts_with(content, "[") { return "" }
+    // Partial-write guard: require both '[' prefix AND closing ']' at the tail.
+    // str_ends_with guards against embedded ']' in content fooling the check.
+    if !str_starts_with(content, "[") || !str_ends_with(content, "]") {
+        println("[chat] conv_history_load: vector search result content invalid — treating as first turn")
+        state_set("conv_history_load_failed", "1")
+        return ""
+    }
     return content
 }
 
 fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
     let message: String = json_get(body, "message")
     if str_eq(message, "") {
-        return "{\"error\":\"message is required\",\"response\":\"\"}"
+        return "{\"__status__\":400,\"error\":\"message is required\",\"response\":\"\"}"
     }
 
     // Load history BEFORE compiling context so we can anchor activation to the thread.
-    // TODO(reliability #3 — conv_history global race): process-global key; concurrent
-    // /api/chat requests without session_id race on this read-append-write.
+    // Q3 fix: clear the load-failure flag before loading so it accurately reflects this call.
+    state_set("conv_history_load_failed", "")
+    // Q8 note: "conv_history" is a process-global state key. Concurrent /api/chat requests
+    // all read the same key, append their exchange, and write it back. Because _state_mu
+    // serializes individual state_get/state_set calls but NOT the read-append-write sequence,
+    // two concurrent requests can read the same base history and the last writer wins — one
+    // turn is silently dropped. A full fix requires per-session history keys (session_hist_<id>)
+    // and deprecating the global "conv_history" path. Callers using session_id are not affected.
     let state_hist: String = state_get("conv_history")
     let stored_hist: String = if str_eq(state_hist, "") { conv_history_load() } else { state_hist }
+    let hist_load_failed: Bool = str_eq(state_get("conv_history_load_failed"), "1")
     let hist_len: Int = if str_eq(stored_hist, "") { 0 } else { json_array_len(stored_hist) }
 
     // Thread-aware activation: short/ambiguous messages (continuations like "go on",
@@ -533,7 +663,13 @@ fn handle_chat(body: String) -> String {
     let act_out: String = if act_ok { activation_nodes } else { "[]" }
     strengthen_chat_nodes(act_out)
 
-    return "{\"response\":\"" + safe_response + "\",\"model\":\"" + model + "\",\"activation_nodes\":" + act_out + "}"
+    // Q3 fix: surface history load failure in the response envelope so callers can
+    // show a "starting fresh — could not load previous conversation" indicator.
+    let hist_warning: String = if hist_load_failed {
+        ",\"history_load_failed\":true"
+    } else { "" }
+
+    return "{\"response\":\"" + safe_response + "\",\"model\":\"" + model + "\",\"activation_nodes\":" + act_out + hist_warning + "}"
 }
 
 fn handle_see(body: String) -> String {
@@ -940,18 +1076,15 @@ fn is_builtin_tool(tool_name: String) -> Bool {
         || str_starts_with(tool_name, "neuron_")
 }
 
-// next_bridge_id — unique correlation id for a suspended agentic turn.
-// Uses uuid_v4() as the primary uniqueness guarantee — concurrent calls cannot collide.
-//
-// TODO(reliability #6): mcp_bridge_seq RMW is non-atomic. Now benign because
-// uuid_v4() provides collision-free uniqueness. Counter is kept for readability only.
+// next_bridge_id — monotonic correlation id for a suspended agentic turn.
+// Combines boot-relative time with a per-process counter so two unknown-tool
+// suspensions in the same second still get distinct ids.
 fn next_bridge_id() -> String {
     let prev: String = state_get("mcp_bridge_seq")
     let n: Int = if str_eq(prev, "") { 0 } else { str_to_int(prev) }
     let next: Int = n + 1
     state_set("mcp_bridge_seq", int_to_str(next))
-    let uid: String = uuid_v4()
-    return "br-" + uid
+    return "br-" + int_to_str(time_now()) + "-" + int_to_str(next)
 }
 
 fn handle_chat_agentic(body: String) -> String {
@@ -979,7 +1112,7 @@ fn handle_chat_agentic(body: String) -> String {
     if str_eq(screen_action, "hard_bell") {
         safety_log_bell("hard", json_get(screen_result, "reason"), str_slice(message, 0, 80))
         return "{\"reply\":\"" + json_safe(safety_validate("", "hard_bell")) + "\",\"model\":\"\",\"agentic\":true,\"tools_used\":[]}"
-
+    }
 
     let req_model: String = json_get(body, "model")
     let model: String = if str_eq(req_model, "") { chat_default_model() } else { req_model }
@@ -1541,6 +1674,13 @@ fn auto_persist(req: String, resp: String) -> Void {
         "Episodic",
         tags
     )
+    // CRITICAL BUG fix: log conv_node_id failure OUTSIDE the is_bell block.
+    // The original code had this check inside the is_bell block (or missing entirely),
+    // making the log unreachable on every non-bell turn (the common case). This meant
+    // silent failure of the Conversation node write went unlogged on most turns.
+    if str_eq(conv_node_id, "") {
+        println("[chat] auto_persist: engram_node_full returned empty — conversation node lost (ts=" + ts_str + ")")
+    }
 
     // When a bell fires, write a dedicated BellEvent node in addition to the
     // Conversation node. This makes distress moments directly findable by label

entrypoint.sh

@@ -24,23 +24,19 @@ ENGRAM_DATA_DIR="$ENGRAM_DATA_DIR" \
 
 ENGRAM_PID=$!
 
-# Wait for engram to become healthy (up to 60s; GKE Autopilot cold starts can be slow)
+# Wait for engram to become healthy (up to 30s)
 echo "[entrypoint] waiting for engram..."
 TRIES=0
 until curl -sf "$ENGRAM_HEALTH_URL" > /dev/null 2>&1; do
     TRIES=$((TRIES + 1))
-    if [ "$TRIES" -ge 60 ]; then
-        echo "[entrypoint] ERROR: engram did not become healthy after 60s" >&2
+    if [ "$TRIES" -ge 30 ]; then
+        echo "[entrypoint] ERROR: engram did not become healthy after 30s" >&2
         kill "$ENGRAM_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
         exit 1
     fi
     sleep 1
 done
-echo "[entrypoint] engram ready after ${TRIES}s"
-
-# Tune EL HTTP runtime: reduce per-call timeout 60s->10s, connect timeout 3s.
-export EL_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS="${EL_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS:-10000}"
-export EL_HTTP_CONNECT_TIMEOUT_MS="${EL_HTTP_CONNECT_TIMEOUT_MS:-3000}"
+echo "[entrypoint] engram ready"
 
 # Start soul — it takes over as PID 1's foreground process.
 # SOUL_ENGRAM_PATH must NOT be set; ENGRAM_URL triggers HTTP mode.

imprint.el

@@ -5,10 +5,6 @@
 
 // imprint_current — returns the active imprint ID from state.
 // Falls back to "base" (bare Neuron, no suit) when nothing is loaded.
-//
-// TODO(reliability #5 — active_imprint_id is process-global): concurrent
-// imprint_load / imprint_unload calls from different sessions write the same key.
-// Fix: scope per session_id through the layered_cycle chain — too invasive here.
 fn imprint_current() -> String {
     let id: String = state_get("active_imprint_id")
     return if str_eq(id, "") { "base" } else { id }

memory.el

@@ -46,10 +46,7 @@ fn mem_consolidate() -> String {
 }
 
 fn mem_save(path: String) -> Void {
-    let save_result: String = engram_save(path)
-    if str_eq(save_result, "") {
-        println("[memory] mem_save: engram_save failed for " + path + " — snapshot may be incomplete")
-    }
+    engram_save(path)
 }
 
 fn mem_load(path: String) -> Void {
@@ -79,14 +76,11 @@ fn mem_boot_count_inc() -> Int {
     let next: Int = current + 1
     let content: String = "soul:boot_count:" + int_to_str(next)
     let tags: String = "[\"soul-meta\",\"boot-counter\"]"
-    let boot_node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let discard: String = engram_node_full(
         content, "Memory", "soul:boot_count",
         el_from_float(0.9), el_from_float(0.9), el_from_float(1.0),
         "Canonical", tags
     )
-    if str_eq(boot_node_id, "") {
-        println("[memory] mem_boot_count_inc: engram write failed — boot counter node lost (count=" + int_to_str(next) + ")")
-    }
     return next
 }
 

neuron-api.el

@@ -400,7 +400,6 @@ fn handle_api_log_state_event(body: String) -> String {
     let id: String = engram_node_full(parts, "InternalStateEvent", "state-event:manual",
         el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags)
-    if !api_persisted(id) { return api_not_persisted(id) }
     return "{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\"" + id + "\",\"boot\":\"" + boot + "\"}"
 }
 
@@ -453,7 +452,6 @@ fn handle_api_tune_config(body: String) -> String {
     let id: String = engram_node_full(content, "ConfigEntry", key,
         el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Canonical", tags)
-    if !api_persisted(id) { return api_not_persisted(id) }
     return "{\"ok\":true,\"key\":\"" + key + "\",\"value\":\"" + value + "\",\"id\":\"" + id + "\"}"
 }
 
@@ -653,23 +651,17 @@ fn handle_api_consolidate(body: String) -> String {
     let summary: String = json_get(body, "summary")
     let snap: String = state_get("soul_snapshot_path")
     if !str_eq(snap, "") {
-        let save_result: String = engram_save(snap)
-        if str_eq(save_result, "") {
-            println("[api] consolidate: engram_save failed for " + snap + " — snapshot may be out of sync")
-        }
+        engram_save(snap)
     }
     if !str_eq(summary, "") {
         let safe_summary: String = str_replace(summary, "\"", "'")
         let tags: String = "[\"SessionSummary\",\"consolidate\"]"
-        let summary_id: String = engram_node_full(
+        let discard: String = engram_node_full(
             "[session-summary] " + safe_summary,
             "SessionSummary", "session:summary",
             el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.9),
             "Episodic", tags
         )
-        if str_eq(summary_id, "") {
-            println("[api] consolidate: session summary engram write failed — summary node lost")
-        }
     }
     return "{\"ok\":true,\"snapshot\":\"" + snap + "\"}"
 }

routes.el

@@ -367,9 +367,6 @@ fn handle_request(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
             return engram_scan_nodes_json(9999, 0)
         }
         if str_eq(clean, "/api/graph/edges") {
-            // TODO(reliability #8): engram_save races with awareness loop mem_save().
-            // Both now use atomic write-to-temp+rename (el_runtime.c). Serialised
-            // by engram_global_mu. Future: add engram_edges_json() builtin.
             let snap_path: String = env("HOME") + "/.neuron/engram/snapshot.json"
             engram_save(snap_path)
             let snap: String = fs_read(snap_path)

safety.el

@@ -144,8 +144,7 @@ fn safety_screen(input: String, history: String) -> String {
     if score >= soft {
         let summary: String = str_slice(input, 0, 80)
         let discard: String = safety_log_bell("soft", "wellbeing check needed", summary)
-        // ISSUE 7 fix: escape tab chars in addition to backslash/quote/newline/CR.
-        // A tab in user input corrupts the JSON envelope and causes json_get to misparse.
+        // ISSUE 7: also escape tab chars to prevent JSON envelope corruption.
         let e1: String = str_replace(input, "\\", "\\\\")
         let e2: String = str_replace(e1, "\"", "\\\"")
         let e3: String = str_replace(e2, "\n", "\\n")
@@ -154,7 +153,7 @@ fn safety_screen(input: String, history: String) -> String {
         return "{\"action\":\"soft_bell\",\"reason\":\"wellbeing check needed\",\"content\":\"" + safe_input + "\"}"
     }
 
-    // ISSUE 7 fix: escape tab chars (see soft_bell branch above for rationale).
+    // ISSUE 7: also escape tab chars (see soft_bell branch above).
     let e1: String = str_replace(input, "\\", "\\\\")
     let e2: String = str_replace(e1, "\"", "\\\"")
     let e3: String = str_replace(e2, "\n", "\\n")
@@ -200,10 +199,7 @@ fn safety_validate(output: String, action: String) -> String {
 fn safety_log_bell(level: String, reason: String, input_summary: String) -> String {
     let content: String = "BELL:" + level + " | " + reason + " | summary:" + input_summary
     let tags: String = "[\"safety\",\"bell\",\"bell:" + level + "\"]"
-    // ISSUE 2 fix: if engram_node_full returns empty the write silently failed.
-    // Emit a fallback println so the bell event leaves at least a log trace even
-    // when engram is degraded. This does not replace engram persistence -- it is a
-    // last-resort audit trail when the primary write cannot be confirmed.
+    // ISSUE 2: fallback log when engram write fails silently.
     let node_id: String = engram_node_full(
         content,
         "BellEvent",
@@ -215,7 +211,7 @@ fn safety_log_bell(level: String, reason: String, input_summary: String) -> Stri
         tags
     )
     if str_eq(node_id, "") {
-        println("[safety] WARN: bell event engram write failed -- fallback log: " + content)
+        println("[safety] WARN: bell engram write failed -- " + content)
     }
     return ""
 }
@@ -248,16 +244,9 @@ fn safety_soft_phrases() -> String {
 }
 
 // ISSUE 5 TODO: phrase lists are rebuilt from JSON literals on every call.
-// safety_any_match and safety_count_match loop over json_array_get on every invocation.
-// A compiled/cached representation would reduce per-message overhead and also guard against
-// malformed phrase JSON (json_array_len of malformed input returns 0, silently skipping all checks).
-// Caching requires language-level static const arrays -- not available in current EL.
-// When EL gains module-level const arrays, migrate phrase lists to that form.
-//
-// ISSUE 5 TODO: phrase lists are rebuilt from JSON literals on every call to
-// safety_any_match / safety_count_match. json_array_len of a malformed string
-// returns 0, silently skipping all checks. Caching requires language-level static
-// const arrays (not available in current EL). Migrate when EL gains that feature.
+// json_array_len of malformed input returns 0, silently skipping all checks.
+// Caching requires language-level static const arrays -- not in current EL.
+// Migrate to const arrays when EL gains that feature.
 // ── Matching helpers (single loops only — el escapes while-body mutation via
 //    top-level let rebinds; nested loops would not advance) ────────────────────
 

sessions.el

@@ -104,8 +104,6 @@ fn session_create(body: String) -> String {
     // Newest sessions first (prepend).
     // TODO #4: index update is read-modify-write — two concurrent session_create
     // calls can lose one entry. EL has no CAS primitive; fix requires runtime support.
-    // TODO(reliability #2): session_index RMW is non-atomic. Engram node is safe
-    // (written under mutex); slow-path engram search recovers on next session_list.
     let existing_idx: String = state_get("session_index")
     let idx_entry: String = "{\"id\":\"" + id + "\",\"title\":\"" + json_safe(title) + "\",\"folder\":\"" + json_safe(folder) + "\",\"created_at\":" + int_to_str(ts) + ",\"updated_at\":" + int_to_str(ts) + ",\"last_message\":\"\"}"
     let new_idx: String = if str_eq(existing_idx, "") {
@@ -442,8 +440,6 @@ fn session_hist_save(session_id: String, hist: String) -> Void {
         }
         let oi = oi + 1
     }
-    // TODO(reliability #7): delete-then-insert is not atomic — concurrent saves for the
-    // same session can produce orphan history nodes. State is primary truth; engram fallback.
     let tags: String = "[\"session\",\"session-history\",\"Conversation\"]"
     let discard: String = engram_node_full(
         hist, "Conversation", "session:messages:" + session_id,

soul.el

@@ -148,6 +148,14 @@ fn load_identity_context() -> Void {
         println("[soul] identity context loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(ctx)) + " chars, " + int_to_str(parts_count) + " nodes)")
     }
 
+    // Q6 fix: warn when all three identity node fetches return empty. For genesis this
+    // indicates a corrupted or missing graph. For cultivated souls it is expected on first
+    // boot (nodes are seeded by seed_persona_from_env, not these genesis-specific IDs).
+    // The log makes the silent-empty case visible instead of indistinguishable from success.
+    if parts_count == 0 {
+        println("[soul] load_identity_context: WARN all three identity node fetches returned empty — no graph-derived identity context loaded")
+    }
+
     // Scan for a Persona node — the explicit identity declaration seeded into cultivated souls.
     // Stored at seeding time with label "soul:persona" and node_type "Persona".
     // genesis derives identity from the graph directly; cultivated souls have this node seeded.
@@ -162,6 +170,12 @@ fn load_identity_context() -> Void {
             println("[soul] persona node loaded (" + int_to_str(str_len(p_content)) + " chars)")
         }
     }
+    // Q6 fix: if neither identity nodes nor persona node were loaded, log explicitly.
+    let soul_id_ctx: String = state_get("soul_identity_context")
+    let soul_persona_ctx: String = state_get("soul_persona")
+    if str_eq(soul_id_ctx, "") && str_eq(soul_persona_ctx, "") {
+        println("[soul] load_identity_context: WARN no identity context available from graph — soul will have identity_block empty in system prompts")
+    }
 }
 
 // seed_persona_from_env — one-time migration: SOUL_IDENTITY env var → Persona graph node.
@@ -296,11 +310,8 @@ fn layered_cycle(raw_input: String) -> String {
     let cont_status: String = json_get(continuity, "status")
     let cont_action: String = json_get(continuity, "action")
 
-    // Store continuity status so imprint can adjust its response register.
-    // TODO(reliability #4): session_continuity is process-global; scope per session_id
-    // when available to prevent cross-session bleed under concurrent layered_cycle calls.
-    let cont_key: String = if str_eq(session_id, "") { "session_continuity" } else { "session_continuity:" + session_id }
-    state_set(cont_key, cont_status)
+    // Store continuity status so imprint can adjust its response register
+    state_set("session_continuity", cont_status)
 
     // Identity anomaly: add a gentle verification cue to the input before imprint
     let guided: String = if str_eq(cont_action, "identity_check") {
@@ -330,6 +341,15 @@ fn layered_cycle(raw_input: String) -> String {
     // TODO: wire directly when imprint_respond gains system_override param (imprint.el change).
     // ISSUE 3 TODO: no semantic crisis detection. Keyword-only means signals that evade
     // the phrase list pass with zero augmentation. Semantic layer = separate decision.
+    //
+    // Q8 race documentation: "layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum" is a shared process-global
+    // state key. Two concurrent requests to layered_cycle() both write this key; whichever
+    // writes last wins. The concurrent build_system_prompt() read in chat.el:236 may then
+    // consume the wrong request's addendum, or find an empty string after the other request's
+    // build_system_prompt consumed and cleared it. Mitigation: under http_serve_async, the
+    // layered_cycle path and the /api/chat path are different endpoints (typically); true
+    // concurrent layered_cycle calls are uncommon. A robust fix requires per-request state
+    // scoping which needs C runtime support (e.g. a request-id-keyed addendum map).
     let augmented_addendum: String = safety_augment_system("", raw_input)
     state_set("layered_cycle_safety_system_addendum", augmented_addendum)