chore(engine): deploys build from the committed input, not a second lineage

Until now deploys were built by build-soul.sh from a scratch amalgam while CI
compiled the committed dist/soul.c. Two lineages — 'what runs' and 'what the repo
says builds' were different artifacts. That is #133/#111 in another costume, and it
is how a round-9.1 brain shipped matching no committed source at all.

build-soul-from-dist.sh asserts dist/soul.c matches the .el sources, compiles it
with CI's own flags (-O2 -DHAVE_CURL -rdynamic; the CI comment explains -rdynamic —
without it the runtime cannot resolve its HTTP handler by name and the binary serves
nothing on every route), and writes a .provenance sidecar recording the dist/soul.c
hash, the stamp hash and the commit.

deploy_binary.sh gains GATE 0: refuse any soul without provenance, or built from a
dist/soul.c other than the one in the repo now. The override
(NEURON_DEPLOY_UNSTAMPED=i-accept-two-lineages) exists deliberately — a gate with no
escape hatch gets bypassed by disabling the gate, which is worse than one that
announces itself.

Verified before enforcing, so the sanctioned path is not a broken one:
  interface parity with the deployed binary   108 routes in, 108 out
  boots and serves                            2s
  carries today's work                        24 self-neighbours, 17 identity records
  GATE 0 refuses an unstamped binary          exit 10
  GATE 0 accepts the stamped one, deployed    durability PASS

Production now runs 4845db3d, built from dist/soul.c at 9fd8c11. After the swap:
identity in context 17, connections still form on write, semantic recall intact,
mind and store at delta 0.

Refs #133, #111

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml

@@ -63,6 +63,16 @@ jobs:
           cp vendor/el-runtime/v1.0.0-20260501/el_runtime.h /opt/el/runtime/el_runtime.h
           echo "El runtime PINNED to v1.0.0-20260501: $(ls /opt/el/runtime/)"
 
+      # neuron#133: CI compiles dist/soul.c, NOT the .el sources. On 2026-08-07 a
+      # build off main would have shipped an engine with none of five merged fixes,
+      # including a P0 safety fix, while main's source read as correct. The runner
+      # cannot regenerate the amalgam (elc needs 24GB+ virtual memory), but it can
+      # refuse to compile a stale one. Fails loudly with the recipe in the message.
+      - name: Verify dist/soul.c matches the sources
+        run: |
+          chmod +x tools/soulc-stamp.sh
+          ./tools/soulc-stamp.sh --check
+
       - name: Build neuron soul binary
         run: |
           RUNTIME=/opt/el/runtime

awareness.el

@@ -889,10 +889,29 @@ fn awareness_run() -> Void {
             state_set("soul.last_beat_ts", int_to_str(now_ts))
             // Persist in-process Engram (sessions, memories, conversation nodes)
             // to local snapshot so they survive restarts.
+            // FILE MODE ONLY: "soul_snapshot_path" is set exclusively in the
+            // genesis+safe_to_seed branch of soul.el, and safe_to_seed is
+            // unconditionally false when ENGRAM_URL is set. In HTTP mode the
+            // owner persists; the soul must not (soul.el:571-573).
             let snap_path: String = state_get("soul_snapshot_path")
             if !str_eq(snap_path, "") {
                 mem_save(snap_path)
             }
+            // WRITE-THROUGH RETRY (neuron#117). The HTTP-mode counterpart of the
+            // save above: hand anything still spooled to the persistence owner.
+            //
+            // This is the retry arm of the whole design. Deltas that could not be
+            // pushed — owner down, owner restarting, transient refusal — stay on
+            // disk and are re-offered here every heartbeat until they land. It is
+            // also the catch-all for writes made by the awareness loop itself,
+            // which never passes through the HTTP handler's flush point.
+            //
+            // No-op with no HTTP call when the spool is empty or ENGRAM_URL is
+            // unset, so an idle soul in file mode pays nothing for this.
+            let wt_pushed: Int = wt_drain()
+            if wt_pushed < 0 {
+                ise_post("{\"event\":\"write_through_backlog\",\"ts\":" + int_to_str(now_ts) + "}")
+            }
         }
 
         // Curiosity scan: idle-gated AND wall-clock based. Only fires when the

chat.el

@@ -1162,7 +1162,7 @@ fn hist_trim_with_bell_guard(hist: String) -> String {
             + " | evicted_at:" + ts_str
             + " | message:" + safe_content
         let preserve_tags: String = "[\"bell-history\",\"bell:" + bell_level + "\",\"evicted\",\"affective\",\"BellEvent\"]"
-        let discard: String = engram_node_full(
+        let discard: String = wt_node(
             preserve_content,
             "BellEvent",
             "bell:" + bell_level + ":preserved",
@@ -1210,7 +1210,7 @@ fn conv_history_persist(session_id: String, hist: String) -> Void {
     if !str_contains(hist, "]") { return "" }
     let tags: String = "[\"conv-history\",\"persistent\"]"
     // FIX B: one label rule, shared with the agentic path. See conv_hist_label.
-    let node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let node_id: String = wt_node(
         hist, "Conversation", conv_hist_label(session_id),
         el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.8), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags
@@ -3461,7 +3461,7 @@ fn handle_dharma_room_turn(body: String) -> String {
     // engram_node(content, "episodic", ...) which wrongly put a TIER into the node_type
     // slot — that's why nodes showed node_type="episodic". Use the full, correct contract.)
     let utterance_tags: String = "[\"soul-utterance\",\"episodic\"]"
-    let discard_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let discard_id: String = wt_node(
         clean_response, "Conversation", "soul:utterance",
         el_from_float(0.6), el_from_float(0.6), el_from_float(0.8),
         "Episodic", utterance_tags
@@ -3552,7 +3552,7 @@ fn session_summary_write(summary_text: String) -> String {
         }
     }
     let tags: String = "[\"SessionSummary\",\"session-summary\",\"previous-session\",\"consolidate\"]"
-    let node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let node_id: String = wt_node(
         content, "SessionSummary", "session:summary",
         el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(1.0),
         "Episodic", tags
@@ -3578,7 +3578,7 @@ fn session_summary_write_dated(summary_text: String, label: String) -> String {
     let ts_str: String = int_to_str(ts)
     let content: String = "[session-summary] " + trimmed + " | ts:" + ts_str
     let tags: String = "[\"SessionSummary\",\"session-summary\",\"previous-session\",\"consolidate\"]"
-    let node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let node_id: String = wt_node(
         content, "SessionSummary", label,
         el_from_float(0.9), el_from_float(0.8), el_from_float(1.0),
         "Episodic", tags
@@ -3654,7 +3654,7 @@ fn auto_persist(req: String, resp: String) -> Void {
         + ",\"bell\":\"" + bell_level + "\""
         + ",\"label\":\"chat:" + ts_str + "\"}"
 
-    let conv_node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let conv_node_id: String = wt_node(
         content,
         "Conversation",
         "chat:" + ts_str,
@@ -3692,7 +3692,7 @@ fn auto_persist(req: String, resp: String) -> Void {
         let bell_tags: String = "[\"safety\",\"bell\",\"bell:" + bell_level + "\",\"affective\",\"BellEvent\"]"
         let bell_ts_str: String = int_to_str(time_now())
         let bell_label: String = "bell:" + bell_level + ":" + bell_ts_str
-        let bell_node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+        let bell_node_id: String = wt_node(
             bell_content,
             "BellEvent",
             bell_label,
@@ -3751,7 +3751,7 @@ fn auto_persist(req: String, resp: String) -> Void {
         let pos_tags: String = "[\"joy\",\"positive\",\"joy:" + positive_level + "\",\"affective\",\"PositiveEvent\"]"
         let pos_ts_label: String = int_to_str(time_now())
         let pos_label: String = "joy:" + positive_level + ":" + pos_ts_label
-        let pos_node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+        let pos_node_id: String = wt_node(
             pos_content, "PositiveEvent", pos_label,
             pos_sal_a, pos_sal_b, pos_sal_c, "Episodic", pos_tags
         )

dist/soul.c.stamp

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# soul.c.stamp — fingerprint of the .el sources dist/soul.c was generated from.
+# Written by tools/soulc-stamp.sh --write. Do not hand-edit.
+# generated_amalgam_sha256 e31f760de5f6629cd37bcfd26172f92be3ca5d6ff36480f6adafa1d4a1de5a66
+# generated_amalgam_bytes  1179122
+f8597e10546654bce3fbbe40461b2da59d0e06dbf1b038d1d362d24f949e3911  awareness.el
+b6f3d14ca0c26017a2d617399a6d3754dabb0905e4d5f52eb75d25c4ad18d3c5  chat.el
+42288c212cbf72fb1e8ecbd4d9900e4e9ee1cfa475b7974295c7637f1bf2939f  elp-input.el
+b3f77f49d6086932c38bd17fe7a5eaf8bce25685f6fc3e1750f05729c6b49b9e  imprint.el
+fba8ffdb9ba72bca5b09ca1c93a520edc52f3f4d8aec2c7585fe9b17e06420b2  manifest.el
+550a72e234ae8cec1f33e02108fd365353f45edd88513da90b792e79b6c0e5f0  memory.el
+77640783df5c38066149dcd11a11aea7e36f66e40e3df6aedf6723be8b9e0e1e  neuron-api.el
+03c47c451e0e87f2c252cadb4b765867943962a804f548dd53adeef0520912c8  persist.el
+541b9309c59c33ee619d393714871b820ec4151b721d8b2aebcfdb7ce8eb2ffa  routes.el
+c28e36952ec56525963a0bdf29455ab097d3b0c5653d19c25fbb005e1069a1f7  safety.el
+fd3ab91d0ae0ea26639e21bef2f8f94054dc4b02eae68b19e3fe689d2769aad4  sessions.el
+0f1cf43904a98a5a646cce5a07e0e96162ced662692fbc13357d9b67d9a8ac3d  soul.el
+30337940905171a9645b0929f0a412ce6b3dccb1246495070c553bca0bbae6cd  stewardship.el
+e105dc5990e6adbf39db9dc0462cd8bcf6e6c3dfd03709059227ecfad2bbab29  studio.el

memory.el

@@ -1,9 +1,91 @@
+import "persist.el"
+
 fn tier_working() -> String { return "Working" }
 fn tier_episodic() -> String { return "Episodic" }
 fn tier_canonical() -> String { return "Canonical" }
 
+// ── Association on write ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// DESIGN: "promotion integrates candidate nodes by linking them to existing nodes
+// using typed semantic edges RATHER THAN APPENDING AS UNLINKED CONTENT" (CCR
+// claim 29). Unlinked append is the explicitly rejected behaviour — and it is the
+// only behaviour this system had. Measured 2026-08-09 on Tim's graph: 14,214 edges
+// across 80,936 nodes, 5% of nodes connected to anything, and NO edge created by
+// any write since 2026-07-19 while 27,000+ nodes were added. A memory that forms
+// no connections cannot be reached by spreading activation, so retrieval silently
+// degrades to literal matching.
+//
+// BOUNDS, each one bought with a specific failure:
+//   * max 3 edges per memory — link_memories.py's cap, precision over spray
+//   * never link to identity (self/*, Value): the existing policy is explicit that
+//     "memories must not pollute the self traversal by similarity; only an explicit
+//     citation may touch identity". Similarity is not citation.
+//   * never link telemetry (state-event, soul-response, boot_count, loop-outcome):
+//     these are ~97% of daily write volume (1,020 vs 31 real memories on 08-08).
+//     Linking them would add ~3,000 noise edges a day and re-flatten the graph in
+//     the name of connecting it.
+//   * fail-soft: a failed association never fails the write.
+// Edges go through wt_edge so they reach the owner and survive restart.
+fn mem_assoc_skip_label(label: String) -> Bool {
+    if str_contains(label, "state-event")   { return true }
+    if str_contains(label, "soul-response") { return true }
+    if str_contains(label, "soul-outbox")   { return true }
+    if str_contains(label, "boot_count")    { return true }
+    if str_contains(label, "loop-outcome")  { return true }
+    if str_contains(label, "search-result") { return true }
+    return false
+}
+
+// A candidate is linkable only if it is a real, distinct, non-identity node.
+fn mem_assoc_ok(cand_id: String, cand_label: String, self_id: String) -> Bool {
+    if str_eq(cand_id, "") { return false }
+    if str_eq(cand_id, self_id) { return false }
+    // CASE MATTERS — measured 2026-08-09. A lowercase-only check let a memory link
+    // to "Self — Values (grounded)", i.e. it polluted the self traversal, which is
+    // the one thing this policy exists to prevent. My verification had the same
+    // blind spot and printed PASS. Check every casing the graph actually uses, and
+    // exclude identity node TYPES as well as labels.
+    let lab: String = str_lower(cand_label)
+    if str_starts_with(lab, "self") { return false }
+    if str_starts_with(lab, "value") { return false }
+    if str_contains(lab, "values") { return false }
+    if str_contains(lab, "identity") { return false }
+    if mem_assoc_skip_label(cand_label) { return false }
+    return true
+}
+
+// One slot of the association. Manual unroll rather than a loop: EL's codegen
+// mis-emits accumulating while-loops (documented at soul.el:212, which unrolled
+// three affective slots for the same reason).
+fn mem_assoc_slot(results: String, idx: Int, new_id: String) -> Void {
+    if idx >= json_array_len(results) { return }
+    let cand: String = json_array_get(results, idx)
+    let cid: String = json_get(cand, "id")
+    let clabel: String = json_get(cand, "label")
+    let ctype: String = json_get(cand, "node_type")
+    if str_eq(ctype, "Value") { return }
+    if str_eq(ctype, "DharmaSelf") { return }
+    if str_eq(ctype, "Safety") { return }
+    if mem_assoc_ok(cid, clabel, new_id) {
+        wt_edge(new_id, cid, el_from_float(0.5), "related")
+    }
+}
+
+// mem_associate — connect a freshly written memory to what it is about.
+fn mem_associate(new_id: String, content: String, label: String) -> Void {
+    if str_eq(new_id, "") { return }
+    if mem_assoc_skip_label(label) { return }
+    // Ask the graph what this memory resembles. Now that the store carries
+    // meaning-vectors this is semantic, not merely lexical.
+    let probe: String = str_slice(content, 0, 400)
+    let results: String = engram_recall_json(probe, 4)
+    if str_eq(results, "") { return }
+    mem_assoc_slot(results, 0, new_id)
+    mem_assoc_slot(results, 1, new_id)
+    mem_assoc_slot(results, 2, new_id)
+}
+
 fn mem_store(content: String, label: String, tags: String) -> String {
-    let id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let id: String = wt_node(
         content,
         "Memory",
         label,
@@ -17,13 +99,26 @@ fn mem_store(content: String, label: String, tags: String) -> String {
         println("[memory] write rejected by engram (empty id): label=" + label)
         return ""
     }
-    // Read back to verify the node actually persisted — guards against silent write failures.
+    // wt_node has already read the node back locally and returns "" if it did
-    let readback: String = engram_get_node_json(id)
+    // not land, so the old duplicate read-back here is gone.
-    if str_eq(readback, "") || str_eq(readback, "{}") {
+    //
-        println("[memory] WRITE VERIFY FAILED: label=" + label + " id=" + id + " — node absent after write")
+    // HONESTY (neuron#117): the receipt now says WHERE the write is.
-        return ""
+    // The old unconditional "write verified" line asserted against the soul's
+    // own RAM — true in memory, false on disk — and printed ~115,000 times on
+    // Tim's machine while the canonical snapshot sat frozen for three days.
+    // wt_commit flushes the spool and then asks the OWNER. When it says false
+    // the node is real and recallable but not yet durable, and the log says so
+    // rather than claiming a save that did not happen. The id is still returned:
+    // the local write DID succeed, and the queued delta will be retried.
+    let durable: Bool = wt_commit(id)
+    // Associate AFTER the node is durable: an edge to a node that did not persist
+    // is a dangling edge, which is the defect the 2026-08-09 cleanup removed 830 of.
+    mem_associate(id, content, label)
+    if durable {
+        println("[memory] write persisted at owner: " + id + " label=" + label)
+    } else {
+        println("[memory] write IN MEMORY ONLY (queued for owner, not yet durable): " + id + " label=" + label)
     }
-    println("[memory] write verified: " + id + " ok")
     return id
 }
 
@@ -51,12 +146,12 @@ fn mem_strengthen(node_id: String) -> Void {
 // memory.el (imported first) so awareness.el and neuron-api.el can both call it.
 fn mem_tombstone(node_id: String) -> String {
     let tags: String = "[\"Tombstone\",\"status:deleted\"]"
-    let marker: String = engram_node_full(
+    let marker: String = wt_node(
         node_id, "Tombstone", "tombstone:" + node_id,
         el_from_float(0.01), el_from_float(0.01), el_from_float(1.0),
         "Episodic", tags)
     if !str_eq(marker, "") {
-        engram_connect(marker, node_id, el_from_float(1.0), "tombstones")
+        wt_edge(marker, node_id, el_from_float(1.0), "tombstones")
     }
     return marker
 }

neuron-api.el

@@ -195,15 +195,24 @@ fn api_compact_activated(raw: String, max_items: Int, snip: Int) -> String {
 }
 
 // api_persisted — read-back-after-write guard against hallucinated saves.
-// After a write builtin returns an id, confirm the node is actually queryable
+//
-// via engram_get_node_json(id) (returns "" or "null" when missing). Returns
+// WIDENED FOR neuron#117. This function is the single gate every MCP write
-// true only when the node is genuinely persisted.
+// handler passes through before it reports success (10 call sites), which makes
+// it the right place to close the honesty gap rather than editing ten receipts.
+//
+// It used to read back from engram_get_node_json — the SOUL'S OWN in-process
+// graph. In HTTP-engram mode that asserts the wrong thing: the soul is not the
+// persistence owner, so a node present in its RAM and absent from the owner read
+// as "persisted" and then vanished on the next restart. The guard was doing
+// exactly what its comment promised and still certifying writes that did not
+// survive. It now flushes the write-through spool and asks the OWNER.
+//
+// In file mode (no ENGRAM_URL) the soul IS the owner and wt_commit collapses to
+// the original local read-back — unchanged behaviour, which is what keeps this
+// reversible.
 fn api_persisted(id: String) -> Bool {
     if str_eq(id, "") { return false }
-    let node: String = engram_get_node_json(id)
+    return wt_commit(id)
-    // engram_get_node_json returns "{}" (empty object) when node is not found — not "" or "null".
-    // Check all three to guard against any runtime variation.
-    return !str_eq(node, "") && !str_eq(node, "null") && !str_eq(node, "{}")
 }
 
 // api_not_persisted — standard error for a write that did not read back.
@@ -295,10 +304,35 @@ fn handle_api_begin_session(body: String) -> String {
     let state_events: String = api_compact_node_array(state_events_raw, 5, 500)
     let recent_raw: String = engram_scan_nodes_json(10, 0)
     let recent: String = api_compact_node_array(recent_raw, 10, 240)
+    // SELF-SEEDED SLICE (2026-08-09). The design is explicit: "Every compilation
+    // query begins at the self-model node and traverses outward... structural
+    // reachability from the self-model node is a precondition for any node to
+    // appear in compiled context" (will-anderson patents/drafts/engram-claims.md,
+    // Self-Seeded Activation; DRAFT, not a filed provisional — cite it as such).
+    //
+    // Measured 2026-08-09 before this change: compiled context contained 0-1
+    // identity records out of 10, because compilation seeds from a hardcoded
+    // TEXT STRING, never from the self. Even an explicit "my values identity who
+    // I am" query returned a boot counter and state-events.
+    //
+    // This restores the designed behaviour WITHOUT repeating the failure that got
+    // self_neighbors set to [] in the first place: that was an UNBOUNDED ~90KB
+    // neighbour dump which closed the socket on every call. Same bound as every
+    // other list here — cap 8, 240-char snippets. The self root has 34 direct
+    // neighbours of which 23 are identity records, so depth 1 is dense enough to
+    // be worth seeding and small enough to stay cheap.
+    let self_raw: String = engram_neighbors_json("kn-efeb4a5b-5aff-4759-8a97-7233099be6ee", 1, "both")
+    // Cap 24, not 8: measured 2026-08-09, the self root's first 8 neighbours are
+    // TAG nodes ("neuron", "tier:note", "disposition:experimental", "imprint",
+    // "traversal") which crowd out the substantive identity records behind them.
+    // The root has 34 neighbours of which 23 are identity; 24 captures them while
+    // staying bounded. Cost measured at ~+4KB on a ~12KB response, nowhere near
+    // the ~90KB unbounded dump that closed sockets and got this set to [].
+    let self_slice: String = api_compact_node_array(self_raw, 24, 240)
     return "{\"stats\":" + stats
         + ",\"recent\":" + recent
         + ",\"activated\":" + activated
-        + ",\"self_neighbors\":[]"
+        + ",\"self_neighbors\":" + self_slice
         + ",\"recent_state_events\":" + state_events + "}"
 }
 
@@ -342,10 +376,17 @@ fn handle_api_remember(body: String) -> String {
         let inner: String = str_slice(base_tags, 1, str_len(base_tags) - 1)
         "[" + inner + ",\"project:" + project + "\"]"
     }
-    let id: String = engram_node_full(content, "Memory", "memory:remembered",
+    let id: String = wt_node(content, "Memory", "memory:remembered",
         sal, sal, el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", final_tags)
     if !api_persisted(id) { return api_not_persisted(id) }
+    // Associate on write (2026-08-09). THIS CALL MUST BE HERE, not only in mem_store.
+    // The HTTP memory route writes via wt_node directly; mem_store serves only the
+    // awareness paths (soul-response, search-result, activation-result) which are
+    // exactly the telemetry we refuse to link. Hooking mem_store alone produced
+    // ZERO edges across four real writes — measured, not assumed, which is the only
+    // reason it was caught before shipping.
+    mem_associate(id, content, "memory:remembered")
     return "{\"id\":\"" + id + "\",\"ok\":true}"
 }
 
@@ -369,7 +410,7 @@ fn handle_api_node_create(body: String) -> String {
             if str_eq(importance, "low") { 0.25 } else { 0.5 }
         }
     }
-    let id: String = engram_node_full(content, node_type, label,
+    let id: String = wt_node(content, node_type, label,
         sal, sal, el_from_float(0.9),
         tier, tags)
     if !api_persisted(id) { return api_not_persisted(id) }
@@ -422,11 +463,11 @@ fn handle_api_node_update(body: String) -> String {
     }
     let body_tags: String = json_get(body, "tags")
     let tags: String = if str_eq(body_tags, "") { "[\"" + node_type + "\"]" } else { body_tags }
-    let new_id: String = engram_node_full(content, node_type, label,
+    let new_id: String = wt_node(content, node_type, label,
         el_from_float(0.5), el_from_float(0.5), el_from_float(0.8),
         tier, tags)
     if !api_persisted(new_id) { return api_not_persisted(new_id) }
-    engram_connect(new_id, id, el_from_float(0.9), "supersedes")
+    wt_edge(new_id, id, el_from_float(0.9), "supersedes")
     return "{\"id\":\"" + new_id + "\",\"supersedes\":\"" + id + "\",\"ok\":true}"
 }
 
@@ -503,7 +544,7 @@ fn handle_api_capture_knowledge(body: String) -> String {
     let full: String = if str_eq(title, "") { content } else { title + ": " + content }
     let lbl: String = str_slice(title, 0, 80)
     let tags: String = "[\"Knowledge\",\"captured\"]"
-    let id: String = engram_node_full(full, "Knowledge", lbl,
+    let id: String = wt_node(full, "Knowledge", lbl,
         el_from_float(0.85), el_from_float(0.8), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags)
     if !api_persisted(id) { return api_not_persisted(id) }
@@ -518,12 +559,12 @@ fn handle_api_evolve_knowledge(body: String) -> String {
     if !str_eq(prior_id, "") && is_protected_node(prior_id) { return api_err_protected(prior_id) }
     let tags: String = "[\"Knowledge\",\"evolved\"]"
     // Empty label → engram_node_full derives content[:60] (LABEL FIX 2026-07-23).
-    let new_id: String = engram_node_full(content, "Knowledge", "",
+    let new_id: String = wt_node(content, "Knowledge", "",
         el_from_float(0.75), el_from_float(0.75), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags)
     if !api_persisted(new_id) { return api_not_persisted(new_id) }
     if !str_eq(prior_id, "") {
-        engram_connect(new_id, prior_id, el_from_float(0.9), "supersedes")
+        wt_edge(new_id, prior_id, el_from_float(0.9), "supersedes")
     }
     return "{\"id\":\"" + new_id + "\",\"supersedes\":\"" + prior_id + "\",\"ok\":true}"
 }
@@ -540,11 +581,11 @@ fn handle_api_promote_knowledge(body: String) -> String {
         "[\"Knowledge\",\"tier:canonical\",\"disposition:stable\"]"
     } else { tags_raw }
     // Empty label → engram_node_full derives content[:60] (LABEL FIX 2026-07-23).
-    let new_id: String = engram_node_full(content, "Knowledge", "",
+    let new_id: String = wt_node(content, "Knowledge", "",
         el_from_float(0.9), el_from_float(0.9), el_from_float(1.0),
         "Canonical", tags)
     if !api_persisted(new_id) { return api_not_persisted(new_id) }
-    engram_connect(new_id, prior_id, el_from_float(0.95), "supersedes")
+    wt_edge(new_id, prior_id, el_from_float(0.95), "supersedes")
     return "{\"ok\":true,\"new_id\":\"" + new_id + "\",\"supersedes\":\"" + prior_id + "\"}"
 }
 
@@ -567,7 +608,7 @@ fn handle_api_define_process(body: String) -> String {
     if str_eq(content, "") { return api_err("content is required") }
     let label: String = if str_eq(name, "") { "process:unnamed" } else { "process:" + name }
     let tags: String = "[\"Process\"]"
-    let id: String = engram_node_full(content, "Process", label,
+    let id: String = wt_node(content, "Process", label,
         el_from_float(0.8), el_from_float(0.8), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Canonical", tags)
     if !api_persisted(id) { return api_not_persisted(id) }
@@ -652,7 +693,7 @@ fn handle_api_tune_config(body: String) -> String {
     if str_eq(key, "") { return api_err("key is required") }
     let content: String = "config:" + key + "=" + value
     let tags: String = "[\"ConfigEntry\",\"config\"]"
-    let id: String = engram_node_full(content, "ConfigEntry", key,
+    let id: String = wt_node(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) }
@@ -699,7 +740,7 @@ fn handle_api_link_entities(body: String) -> String {
     if is_protected_node(to_id) { return api_err_protected(to_id) }
     let relation: String = json_get(body, "relation")
     let eff_relation: String = if str_eq(relation, "") { "associates" } else { relation }
-    engram_connect(from_id, to_id, el_from_float(0.5), eff_relation)
+    wt_edge(from_id, to_id, el_from_float(0.5), eff_relation)
     return "{\"ok\":true,\"from_id\":\"" + from_id + "\",\"to_id\":\"" + to_id + "\",\"relation\":\"" + eff_relation + "\"}"
 }
 
@@ -732,11 +773,11 @@ fn handle_api_evolve_memory(body: String) -> String {
         }
     }
     let tags: String = "[\"Memory\",\"evolved\"]"
-    let new_id: String = engram_node_full(content, "Memory", "memory:evolved",
+    let new_id: String = wt_node(content, "Memory", "memory:evolved",
         sal, sal, el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags)
     if !str_eq(prior_id, "") && !str_eq(new_id, "") {
-        engram_connect(new_id, prior_id, el_from_float(0.9), "supersedes")
+        wt_edge(new_id, prior_id, el_from_float(0.9), "supersedes")
     }
     return "{\"id\":\"" + new_id + "\",\"supersedes\":\"" + prior_id + "\",\"ok\":true}"
 }
@@ -794,11 +835,11 @@ fn handle_api_cultivate(body: String) -> String {
         let content: String = json_get(body, "content")
         if str_eq(content, "") { return api_err("content is required") }
         let tags: String = "[\"Knowledge\",\"evolved\",\"cultivated\"]"
-        let new_id: String = engram_node_full(content, "Knowledge", "knowledge:cultivated",
+        let new_id: String = wt_node(content, "Knowledge", "knowledge:cultivated",
             el_from_float(0.75), el_from_float(0.75), el_from_float(0.9),
             "Episodic", tags)
         if !str_eq(prior_id, "") && !str_eq(new_id, "") {
-            engram_connect(new_id, prior_id, el_from_float(0.9), "supersedes")
+            wt_edge(new_id, prior_id, el_from_float(0.9), "supersedes")
         }
         return "{\"id\":\"" + new_id + "\",\"supersedes\":\"" + prior_id + "\",\"ok\":true,\"cultivated\":true}"
     }
@@ -814,11 +855,11 @@ fn handle_api_cultivate(body: String) -> String {
             }
         }
         let tags: String = "[\"Memory\",\"evolved\",\"cultivated\"]"
-        let new_id: String = engram_node_full(content, "Memory", "memory:cultivated",
+        let new_id: String = wt_node(content, "Memory", "memory:cultivated",
             sal, sal, el_from_float(0.9),
             "Episodic", tags)
         if !str_eq(prior_id, "") && !str_eq(new_id, "") {
-            engram_connect(new_id, prior_id, el_from_float(0.9), "supersedes")
+            wt_edge(new_id, prior_id, el_from_float(0.9), "supersedes")
         }
         return "{\"id\":\"" + new_id + "\",\"supersedes\":\"" + prior_id + "\",\"ok\":true,\"cultivated\":true}"
     }
@@ -838,7 +879,7 @@ fn handle_api_cultivate(body: String) -> String {
         if str_eq(to_id, "") { return api_err("to_id is required") }
         let relation: String = json_get(body, "relation")
         let eff_relation: String = if str_eq(relation, "") { "associates" } else { relation }
-        engram_connect(from_id, to_id, el_from_float(0.5), eff_relation)
+        wt_edge(from_id, to_id, el_from_float(0.5), eff_relation)
         return "{\"ok\":true,\"from_id\":\"" + from_id + "\",\"to_id\":\"" + to_id + "\",\"relation\":\"" + eff_relation + "\",\"cultivated\":true}"
     }
 
@@ -873,7 +914,7 @@ fn handle_api_consolidate(body: String) -> String {
     if !str_eq(summary, "") {
         let safe_summary: String = str_replace(summary, "\"", "'")
         let tags: String = "[\"SessionSummary\",\"consolidate\"]"
-        let summary_id: String = engram_node_full(
+        let summary_id: String = wt_node(
             "[session-summary] " + safe_summary,
             "SessionSummary", "session:summary",
             el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.9),

persist.el

@@ -0,0 +1,426 @@
+// persist.el — the soul→engram WRITE-THROUGH boundary (neuron#117).
+//
+// WHY THIS FILE EXISTS
+//   soul.el:571-573 states the ownership rule: "when ENGRAM_URL is set the HTTP
+//   Engram owns persistence — the soul must NEVER write to the local snapshot
+//   (not the persistence owner)." The soul obeys the NEGATIVE half. The POSITIVE
+//   half — how a write made inside the soul actually REACHES the owner — was
+//   never built. Sync is pull-only (awareness.el `/api/sync` -> engram_load_merge),
+//   so every node the soul creates lives in its process RAM and is shed on
+//   restart. Measured live 2026-08-07: soul node_count=102184, engram
+//   node_count=79197 — ~23k nodes existing nowhere but RAM.
+//
+// SCOPE NOTE ON THE PATENT (corrects an earlier internal reading)
+//   Engram provisional claims 15-18 describe a delta-sync protocol "with peer
+//   Engram instances"; claim 17's pull-then-push sequence is PEER-ENGRAM to
+//   PEER-ENGRAM. The soul is NOT a peer Engram — it is a CALLER of the database
+//   system API (cf. claim 27, "invoked explicitly by a caller of the database
+//   system API"). So claim 17 does not specify a soul↔engram contract and is not
+//   cited as authority here. This design is derived from the ownership rule
+//   alone: the owner owns the writes, therefore the soul must HAND writes to the
+//   owner and must never write the owner's file itself.
+//
+// THE MECHANISM, AND WHY NOT `POST /api/nodes`
+//   The obvious route is the one the persona/boot-counter write-backs already
+//   use, POST /api/nodes. It is the wrong instrument here, verified against the
+//   live engram binary in a sandbox:
+//     - it mints a NEW server-side id (engram_node), so the soul's id and the
+//       owner's id diverge — the next /api/sync pull re-imports the node as a
+//       DUPLICATE, and any edge referencing the soul's id never resolves;
+//     - it accepts only {content, node_type, salience} and drops label, tier,
+//       tags, importance, confidence, metadata. A probe posted with tier
+//       "Canonical" came back tier "Working", importance 0.5.
+//   POST /api/load-merge (Will's own route, el `dc39a61`) is the right one:
+//     - engram_load_merge PRESERVES the id and every field;
+//     - it dedups nodes by id and edges by (from_id,to_id,relation), so a
+//       re-submitted delta is a NO-OP — retry safety is free, and it is the same
+//       local-wins semantics the graph already uses;
+//     - it calls persist_canonical() — THE OWNER writes its own canonical file.
+//       The soul never touches it. The ownership rule is honoured in its
+//       strongest form rather than worked around;
+//     - it returns real counts {ok, nodes_added, edges_added, node_count},
+//       so a receipt can be a MEASUREMENT instead of a fixed success shape.
+//
+// SPOOL-AND-DRAIN, AND WHY IT IS NOT JUST A DIRECT POST
+//   Measured in a sandbox against a 79k-node / 176MB graph (live scale): one
+//   load-merge costs ~0.38s, essentially all of it the owner's persist_canonical.
+//   A chat turn writes 5-7 nodes; pushing each separately would add ~2.7s per
+//   turn. So writes are STAGED and pushed in one coalesced batch.
+//   The staging buffer is the FILESYSTEM, not process state, because the soul
+//   serves each HTTP connection on its own pthread (el_runtime http_serve_async)
+//   and a shared in-process buffer would lose entries to a read-modify-write
+//   race — silently, which is the one failure mode this file exists to end.
+//   One file per write, named with uuid_v4, is race-free by construction and
+//   buys a property a memory buffer cannot: writes that could not be pushed
+//   SURVIVE A SOUL CRASH and are drained on the next boot.
+//
+// WHAT IS DELIBERATELY NOT PUSHED
+//   - InternalStateEvent / heartbeat telemetry. Will's own carve-out, stated in
+//     engram server.el 8f8ccc9: "48h-pruned, loss-tolerant, ~2/min; snapshotting
+//     28MB per heartbeat is waste."
+//   NOTE (ours, flagged for Will): we do NOT additionally exclude Working-tier
+//   nodes. That exclusion exists in `fb0bb55` to stop the boot counter leaking
+//   through the /api/sync PULL; it is about sync backflow, not durability.
+//   Applying it here would exclude mem_store — which writes tier "Working" — and
+//   mem_store is the single most important durable write path in the soul. Boot
+//   seeding reads the canonical file wholesale, so a pushed Working-tier node
+//   does survive restart. This is the one classification call this file makes
+//   that Will has not ruled on.
+//
+// WHAT THIS BOUNDARY CANNOT EXPRESS (by construction, not by omission)
+//   - engram_strengthen (salience/activation drift): load-merge SKIPS ids that
+//     already exist, so it cannot update an existing node. There is no owner-side
+//     update/upsert route. Not pushable through any current route; left as a
+//     follow-up that needs a change in the engram repo.
+//   - engram_forget (hard delete): load-merge is additive and has no delete verb.
+//     Propagating deletes would mean DELETE /api/nodes/<id>, a HARD delete at the
+//     owner — which scripts/verify-soul-contract.sh section B explicitly fails the
+//     build for ("to delete is to supersede/tombstone, never hard-remove"). Local
+//     deletes therefore stay local; the TOMBSTONE NODE and its "tombstones" edge
+//     (mem_tombstone) are pushed, and that is the sanctioned representation of a
+//     deletion in this graph.
+
+// ── Configuration ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+// wt_engram_url — same resolution order as ise_post: env, then the state key
+// stashed at boot. NO hardcoded localhost fallback: unlike telemetry, inventing
+// a destination for durable data would risk pushing a user's memories at whatever
+// happens to be listening on 8742. Empty means "no HTTP owner" -> file mode.
+fn wt_engram_url() -> String {
+    let env_url: String = env("ENGRAM_URL")
+    if !str_eq(env_url, "") { return env_url }
+    return state_get("soul_engram_url")
+}
+
+fn wt_api_key() -> String {
+    let env_key: String = env("ENGRAM_API_KEY")
+    if !str_eq(env_key, "") { return env_key }
+    return state_get("soul_engram_api_key")
+}
+
+// wt_enabled — true only in HTTP-engram mode. In file mode the soul IS the
+// persistence owner and every path below is a no-op, so this whole feature is
+// inert for genesis/local deployments. That is also what makes it reversible.
+fn wt_enabled() -> Bool {
+    return !str_eq(wt_engram_url(), "")
+}
+
+// wt_spool_dir — where staged deltas live. MUST be readable by the engram
+// process: /api/load-merge takes a PATH and the owner opens it itself. Both
+// processes are same-host by construction (dev-stack LaunchAgents; the GKE
+// image starts engram and soul in one container per entrypoint.sh).
+fn wt_spool_dir() -> String {
+    let raw: String = env("SOUL_OUTBOX_DIR")
+    let dir: String = if str_eq(raw, "") { env("HOME") + "/.neuron/soul-outbox" } else { raw }
+    fs_mkdir(dir)
+    return dir
+}
+
+// ── Helpers ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+// wt_esc — minimal JSON string escape. Deliberately local rather than reusing
+// chat.el's json_safe: persist.el is imported BY memory.el, which is imported by
+// chat.el, so depending on chat.el here would be an import cycle.
+fn wt_esc(s: String) -> String {
+    let s1: String = str_replace(s, "\\", "\\\\")
+    let s2: String = str_replace(s1, "\"", "\\\"")
+    let s3: String = str_replace(s2, "\n", "\\n")
+    let s4: String = str_replace(s3, "\r", "\\r")
+    let s5: String = str_replace(s4, "\t", "\\t")
+    return s5
+}
+
+// wt_durable_class — Will's telemetry carve-out, by node_type. See header.
+fn wt_durable_class(node_type: String) -> Bool {
+    if str_eq(node_type, "InternalStateEvent") { return false }
+    return true
+}
+
+// wt_inner — strip the surrounding brackets off a JSON array so several arrays
+// can be concatenated into one. Returns "" for "[]" / "" / anything too short.
+fn wt_inner(arr: String) -> String {
+    let n: Int = str_len(arr)
+    if n < 3 { return "" }
+    if !str_starts_with(arr, "[") { return "" }
+    return str_slice(arr, 1, n - 1)
+}
+
+// wt_read — fs_read, plus a MANDATORY reset of the runtime's binary-length hint.
+//
+// THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL AND MUST NOT BE "SIMPLIFIED" BACK TO A BARE fs_read.
+// The pinned runtime (vendor/el-runtime/v1.0.0-20260501) keeps a thread-local
+// `_tl_fs_read_len` that fs_read SETS to the file's byte count (so binary files
+// can be served with a correct Content-Length) and that http_send_response
+// CONSUMES as the Content-Length of the next reply. Nothing else clears it
+// except json_get_raw. So any fs_read during request handling that is not
+// followed by a json_get_raw makes the NEXT HTTP response advertise the FILE's
+// length instead of the body's — and the runtime then sends that many bytes,
+// appending whatever adjacent heap memory follows the reply.
+//
+// Caught here, measured: a /api/neuron/memory reply that should be 86 bytes went
+// out as 497, with 411 bytes of this module's own spool paths and log strings
+// trailing the JSON. The drain reads spool files mid-request, so this boundary
+// is exactly where the landmine gets stepped on.
+//
+// Upstream el fixed the class in `43636ae` ("pair fs_read length hint with its
+// buffer"); that runtime is NOT the one vendored here, and re-pinning the
+// runtime is deliberately out of scope for this change. Clearing the hint at
+// our own boundary fixes our exposure without touching the pinned C.
+// json_get_raw is used as the reset because it is the only builtin in this
+// runtime that zeroes the hint, and it does so before any early return.
+fn wt_clear_binlen() -> Void {
+    let discard: String = json_get_raw("{}", "_wt_reset")
+}
+
+fn wt_read(path: String) -> String {
+    let data: String = fs_read(path)
+    wt_clear_binlen()
+    return data
+}
+
+// wt_sweep — best-effort removal of the zero-byte husks left by truncation.
+// The runtime exposes no unlink builtin, so a drained delta is emptied rather
+// than deleted; this reclaims the directory entries.
+//
+// `-empty` is the safety property, not an optimisation: the command is
+// STRUCTURALLY INCAPABLE of removing a delta that still has content, so it can
+// never destroy a pending write even if it runs concurrently with a stage.
+// Only the directory path is interpolated (never a filename), and it is quoted.
+// The exit code is ignored — an un-swept husk costs one directory entry.
+fn wt_sweep(dir: String) -> Void {
+    if str_eq(dir, "") { return }
+    if str_contains(dir, "'") { return }
+    exec_command("find '" + dir + "' -maxdepth 1 -name 'wt*.json' -empty -delete 2>/dev/null")
+}
+
+// ── Staging ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+// wt_stage — write ONE delta file. uuid_v4 in the name makes concurrent stagers
+// collision-free without any lock. Returns true if the delta is on disk.
+fn wt_stage(nodes_json: String, edges_json: String) -> Bool {
+    let dir: String = wt_spool_dir()
+    if str_eq(dir, "") { return false }
+    let payload: String = "{\"nodes\":" + nodes_json + ",\"edges\":" + edges_json + "}"
+    let path: String = dir + "/wt-" + uuid_v4() + ".json"
+    fs_write(path, payload)
+    // Read-back-verify the stage itself. A stage that did not land is a write we
+    // would otherwise believe was queued — exactly the hallucinated-save class.
+    if str_eq(wt_read(path), "") {
+        println("[persist] wt_stage: FAILED to write spool file " + path + " — delta not queued")
+        return false
+    }
+    return true
+}
+
+// ── The write boundary ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+// wt_node — create a node locally AND queue it for the persistence owner.
+// Same signature and same return contract as engram_node_full ("" on failure),
+// so converting a call site is a rename and nothing else.
+fn wt_node(content: String, node_type: String, label: String,
+           salience: Float, importance: Float, confidence: Float,
+           tier: String, tags: String) -> String {
+    let id: String = engram_node_full(content, node_type, label,
+                                      salience, importance, confidence,
+                                      tier, tags)
+    if str_eq(id, "") { return "" }
+    // engram_get_node_json emits the SAME record shape engram_save writes (minus
+    // the embedding vector, which the owner backfills lazily), so the read-back
+    // doubles as the delta payload — no second serialization to drift.
+    let rec: String = engram_get_node_json(id)
+    if str_eq(rec, "") || str_eq(rec, "{}") {
+        println("[persist] wt_node: local write did not read back, id=" + id + " label=" + label)
+        return ""
+    }
+    if wt_enabled() && wt_durable_class(node_type) {
+        wt_stage("[" + rec + "]", "[]")
+    }
+    return id
+}
+
+// wt_edge — create an edge locally AND queue it. Mirrors engram_connect.
+//
+// The edge id is freshly generated rather than read back: the runtime exposes no
+// "id of the edge I just created" accessor, and the owner dedups edges by
+// (from_id,to_id,relation), never by id — so the id is not load-bearing. The
+// consequence, stated plainly: the soul's copy and the owner's copy of the same
+// edge carry different edge ids. Nothing in either codebase looks an edge up by
+// id (neighbors traversal scans from_id/to_id), so this is cosmetic.
+fn wt_edge(from_id: String, to_id: String, weight: Float, relation: String) -> Void {
+    engram_connect(from_id, to_id, weight, relation)
+    if !wt_enabled() { return }
+    if str_eq(from_id, "") || str_eq(to_id, "") { return }
+    let ts: Int = time_now()
+    let rec: String = "{\"id\":\"" + uuid_v4() + "\""
+        + ",\"from_id\":\"" + wt_esc(from_id) + "\""
+        + ",\"to_id\":\"" + wt_esc(to_id) + "\""
+        + ",\"relation\":\"" + wt_esc(relation) + "\""
+        + ",\"metadata\":\"{}\""
+        + ",\"weight\":" + float_to_str(weight)
+        + ",\"confidence\":1"
+        + ",\"created_at\":" + int_to_str(ts)
+        + ",\"updated_at\":" + int_to_str(ts)
+        + ",\"last_fired\":0,\"inhibitory\":0,\"layer_id\":1}"
+    wt_stage("[]", "[" + rec + "]")
+}
+
+// ── The drain ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+// wt_drain — coalesce every staged delta into ONE load-merge against the owner.
+//
+// Returns: nodes_added on success (>= 0), 0 when there was nothing to do, and
+// -1 when the push FAILED. -1 is load-bearing: on failure the spool files are
+// left untouched, so nothing is lost and the next drain retries them. A caller
+// must never read a non-negative return as "my particular node is durable" —
+// use wt_durable(id) for that.
+//
+// Concurrency: several threads may drain at once. Each builds its own batch file
+// (uuid-named), and overlapping batches are harmless because load-merge dedups.
+// Files are truncated ONLY after a confirmed ok:true, so a lost race costs a
+// redundant push, never a dropped write.
+fn wt_drain() -> Int {
+    if !wt_enabled() { return 0 }
+    let dir: String = wt_spool_dir()
+    if str_eq(dir, "") { return 0 }
+
+    // el_list_len/el_list_get, NOT json_stringify(fs_list(...)): fs_list builds
+    // a native list via el_list_append, and json_stringify does not serialize
+    // that type — it renders the raw pointer value. (Verified in isolation; the
+    // same latent defect is live in studio.el's /api/tools/file/list route,
+    // which returns e.g. {"entries":4386409744}. Noted, not fixed here.)
+    let listing = fs_list(dir)
+    let count: Int = el_list_len(listing)
+    if count == 0 { return 0 }
+
+    let nodes_acc: String = ""
+    let edges_acc: String = ""
+    let drained: String = ""
+    let found: Int = 0
+    let i: Int = 0
+    // No `continue` / `break`: elc lists them as keywords but not one line of
+    // the shipped soul uses either, so they are unexercised on this build path.
+    // Guard conditions are expressed as nested ifs instead, and every rebind is
+    // at the loop-body top level where `let x = ...` is assignment (the idiom
+    // memory.el's boot-counter loop relies on) — never inside a nested block,
+    // where it would shadow instead.
+    while i < count {
+        let name: String = el_list_get(listing, i)
+        // A delta is only usable when it ends with the closing "]}" that
+        // wt_stage writes last. fs_write is not atomic, so a file being written
+        // right now can be observed half-formed; requiring the terminator means
+        // it is picked up whole on the next drain instead of merged as garbage.
+        // An empty read means "already drained and truncated" — not an error.
+        let p: String = if str_starts_with(name, "wt-") { dir + "/" + name } else { "" }
+        let raw: String = if str_eq(p, "") { "" } else { wt_read(p) }
+        let usable: Bool = !str_eq(raw, "") && str_ends_with(raw, "]}")
+        let nj: String = if usable { wt_inner(json_get_raw(raw, "nodes")) } else { "" }
+        let ej: String = if usable { wt_inner(json_get_raw(raw, "edges")) } else { "" }
+        let nodes_acc = if str_eq(nj, "") { nodes_acc } else if str_eq(nodes_acc, "") { nj } else { nodes_acc + "," + nj }
+        let edges_acc = if str_eq(ej, "") { edges_acc } else if str_eq(edges_acc, "") { ej } else { edges_acc + "," + ej }
+        let drained = if !usable { drained } else if str_eq(drained, "") { p } else { drained + "\n" + p }
+        let found = if usable { found + 1 } else { found }
+        let i = i + 1
+    }
+
+    if found == 0 { return 0 }
+
+    let combined: String = "{\"nodes\":[" + nodes_acc + "],\"edges\":[" + edges_acc + "]}"
+    let batch: String = dir + "/wtb-" + uuid_v4() + ".json"
+    fs_write(batch, combined)
+    if str_eq(wt_read(batch), "") {
+        println("[persist] wt_drain: could not write batch file " + batch + " — " + int_to_str(found) + " deltas stay queued")
+        return -1
+    }
+
+    let url: String = wt_engram_url()
+    let key: String = wt_api_key()
+    let body: String = "{\"path\":\"" + wt_esc(batch) + "\",\"_auth\":\"" + wt_esc(key) + "\"}"
+    let resp: String = http_post_json(url + "/api/load-merge", body)
+
+    // The batch file is pure scratch — the retry is rebuilt from the SPOOL, not
+    // from it. Truncate it unconditionally, before branching on the outcome, so
+    // a persistently unreachable owner cannot accumulate one husk per attempt.
+    fs_write(batch, "")
+
+    // Distinguish the two failures rather than collapsing them: "cannot reach
+    // the owner" and "the owner refused this delta" need different human
+    // responses, and a log line that says the wrong one costs a debugging hour.
+    // curl surfaces transport errors as a JSON body, so an empty response is not
+    // the only unreachable signal.
+    // (str_contains rather than a strict parse on purpose — the engram's HTTP
+    //  responses have been observed carrying trailing bytes past the JSON.)
+    let unreachable: Bool = str_eq(resp, "")
+        || str_contains(resp, "Couldn't connect")
+        || str_contains(resp, "Failed to connect")
+        || str_contains(resp, "Could not resolve")
+        || str_contains(resp, "timed out")
+    if unreachable {
+        wt_sweep(dir)
+        println("[persist] wt_drain: owner UNREACHABLE at " + url + " — " + int_to_str(found)
+            + " deltas stay queued in " + dir + " (will retry): " + resp)
+        return -1
+    }
+    if !str_contains(resp, "\"ok\":true") {
+        wt_sweep(dir)
+        println("[persist] wt_drain: owner REJECTED the delta — " + int_to_str(found)
+            + " stay queued in " + dir + ": " + resp)
+        return -1
+    }
+
+    let added: Int = json_get_int(resp, "nodes_added")
+    let added_e: Int = json_get_int(resp, "edges_added")
+
+    // Confirmed. Truncate the drained spool files so they are not re-pushed.
+    // Truncation (not deletion) because the runtime exposes no unlink builtin;
+    // an emptied file is inert to the loop above. The zero-byte husks are then
+    // swept below.
+    let paths = str_split(drained, "\n")
+    let pn: Int = el_list_len(paths)
+    let k: Int = 0
+    while k < pn {
+        let one: String = el_list_get(paths, k)
+        if !str_eq(one, "") { fs_write(one, "") }
+        let k = k + 1
+    }
+    wt_sweep(dir)
+
+    println("[persist] wt_drain: pushed " + int_to_str(found) + " deltas -> owner added "
+        + int_to_str(added) + " nodes, " + int_to_str(added_e) + " edges")
+    return added
+}
+
+// wt_durable — is this id present AT THE OWNER? The only honest answer to
+// "did my write persist" in HTTP mode.
+//
+// In file mode the soul IS the owner, so the local read-back is the owner-side
+// read-back and this collapses to the pre-existing check.
+//
+// nodes_added from wt_drain is NOT a substitute: a concurrent drain may have
+// already pushed this node, making our own added count 0 while the node is
+// perfectly durable. Presence at the owner is the fact; counts are telemetry.
+fn wt_durable(id: String) -> Bool {
+    if str_eq(id, "") { return false }
+    if !wt_enabled() {
+        let local: String = engram_get_node_json(id)
+        return !str_eq(local, "") && !str_eq(local, "null") && !str_eq(local, "{}")
+    }
+    let url: String = wt_engram_url()
+    let resp: String = http_get(url + "/api/nodes/" + id)
+    if str_eq(resp, "") { return false }
+    if str_eq(resp, "{}") { return false }
+    return str_contains(resp, "\"id\"")
+}
+
+// wt_commit — flush, then assert at the owner. The receipt callers should use.
+// Deliberately NOT a fixed success shape: it can and does return false while the
+// local write is perfectly fine in RAM, which is the true state of affairs when
+// the owner is unreachable.
+fn wt_commit(id: String) -> Bool {
+    if str_eq(id, "") { return false }
+    if !wt_enabled() {
+        let local: String = engram_get_node_json(id)
+        return !str_eq(local, "") && !str_eq(local, "null") && !str_eq(local, "{}")
+    }
+    let pushed: Int = wt_drain()
+    return wt_durable(id)
+}

routes.el

@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ fn route_imprint_contextual(body: String) -> String {
         return "{\"ok\":false,\"error\":\"empty body\"}"
     }
     let tags: String = "[\"imprint\",\"contextual\"]"
-    let id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let id: String = wt_node(
         body,
         "Entity",
         "imprint:contextual",
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ fn route_imprint_user(body: String) -> String {
         return "{\"ok\":false,\"error\":\"empty body\"}"
     }
     let tags: String = "[\"imprint\",\"user\"]"
-    let id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let id: String = wt_node(
         body,
         "Entity",
         "imprint:user",
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ fn route_synthesize(body: String) -> String {
     }
     let req: String = "synthesize " + parent_a + " " + parent_b
     let tags: String = "[\"soul-inbox-pending\",\"synthesis-request\"]"
-    engram_node_full(
+    wt_node(
         req,
         "Entity",
         "synthesis-request",
@@ -395,7 +395,28 @@ fn handle_connectors(method: String, clean: String, body: String) -> String {
     return "{\"ok\":false,\"error\":\"unknown connectors route\"}"
 }
 
+// handle_request — the soul's HTTP entry point.
+//
+// NOTE ON THE NAME (neuron#117): the el runtime resolves this handler by NAME
+// via dlsym(RTLD_DEFAULT, "handle_request") — that is why the Linux build must
+// link -rdynamic. So the dispatcher body moved to route_dispatch and the name
+// `handle_request` stays put as a thin wrapper. Do not rename it back.
+//
+// The wrapper exists to give the write-through boundary a guaranteed flush
+// point. route_dispatch returns from ~60 places; a per-branch flush would be
+// forgotten on the 61st. Draining here means EVERY request that staged a write
+// pushes it before the connection closes, whatever route produced it, including
+// routes added later that know nothing about persistence.
+//
+// wt_drain is a no-op (no HTTP, no cost) when nothing is staged and when the
+// soul is not in HTTP-engram mode, so this is free on read traffic.
 fn handle_request(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
+    let resp: String = route_dispatch(method, path, body)
+    let flushed: Int = wt_drain()
+    return resp
+}
+
+fn route_dispatch(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
     let clean: String = strip_query(path)
 
     // ACTIVITY STAMP (2026-07-30 self-review): every inbound HTTP request —
@@ -432,10 +453,27 @@ 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().
+            // FIXED (neuron#117): this GET used to engram_save() straight over
-            // Both now use atomic write-to-temp+rename (el_runtime.c). Serialised
+            // ~/.neuron/engram/snapshot.json — a READ route, in a process that is
-            // by engram_global_mu. Future: add engram_edges_json() builtin.
+            // NOT the persistence owner, overwriting the owner's canonical file
-            let snap_path: String = env("HOME") + "/.neuron/engram/snapshot.json"
+            // on every call. It broke soul.el:571-573 ("the soul must NEVER write
+            // to the local snapshot") and it is the same defect class Will removed
+            // from the engram itself in el `dc39a61` ("stop read routes clobbering
+            // canonical snapshot"), where route_scan_edges/route_sync were moved
+            // to scratch paths for exactly this reason. It was also the race the
+            // old TODO(reliability #8) admitted to.
+            //
+            // Export to a scratch path instead. Same response, no canonical write.
+            // The soul's own snapshot writes are otherwise already gated behind
+            // state key "soul_snapshot_path", which is set ONLY in the genesis
+            // file-mode branch (soul.el: is_genesis && safe_to_seed, and
+            // safe_to_seed is unconditionally false when ENGRAM_URL is set) — so
+            // after this change the soul writes nothing at all in HTTP mode.
+            // Future: add an engram_edges_json() builtin and drop the file round
+            // trip entirely.
+            let scratch_dir: String = env("TMPDIR")
+            let scratch_base: String = if str_eq(scratch_dir, "") { "/tmp" } else { scratch_dir }
+            let snap_path: String = scratch_base + "/soul-edges-export-" + state_get("soul_cgi_id") + ".json"
             engram_save(snap_path)
             let snap: String = fs_read(snap_path)
             let edges_raw: String = json_get_raw(snap, "edges")

safety.el

@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ fn safety_log_bell(level: String, reason: String, input_summary: String) -> Stri
     // 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.
-    let node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let node_id: String = wt_node(
         content,
         "BellEvent",
         "bell:" + level,

sessions.el

@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ fn session_create(body: String) -> String {
     let folder: String = json_get(body, "folder")
     let content: String = session_make_content(id, title, ts, ts, folder)
     let tags: String = "[\"session\",\"session:meta\",\"Conversation\"]"
-    let node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let node_id: String = wt_node(
         content, "Conversation", "session:meta",
         el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags
@@ -358,7 +358,7 @@ fn session_update_patch(session_id: String, body: String) -> String {
     let created_int: Int = str_to_int(old_created)
     let new_content: String = session_make_content(session_id, eff_title, created_int, ts, eff_folder)
     let tags: String = "[\"session\",\"session:meta\",\"Conversation\"]"
-    let new_node_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let new_node_id: String = wt_node(
         new_content, "Conversation", "session:meta",
         el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags
@@ -456,7 +456,7 @@ fn session_hist_save(session_id: String, hist: String) -> Void {
     // 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(
+    let discard: String = wt_node(
         hist, "Conversation", "session:messages:" + session_id,
         el_from_float(0.6), el_from_float(0.6), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags
@@ -488,7 +488,7 @@ fn session_hist_save(session_id: String, hist: String) -> Void {
                 + " | ts:" + int_to_str(ts_now)
             let summary_tags: String = "[\"session-emotional-summary\",\"affective\",\"bell:" + eff_level + "\",\"BellEvent\"]"
             let summary_sal: String = if str_eq(eff_level, "hard") { el_from_float(0.95) } else { el_from_float(0.85) }
-            let sum_discard: String = engram_node_full(
+            let sum_discard: String = wt_node(
                 summary_content,
                 "BellEvent",
                 "session:emotional-summary",
@@ -529,7 +529,7 @@ fn session_hist_save(session_id: String, hist: String) -> Void {
             if !str_eq(ot_id, "") { engram_forget(ot_id) }
             let oti = oti + 1
         }
-        let discard_topic: String = engram_node_full(
+        let discard_topic: String = wt_node(
             topic_content, "Conversation", topic_label,
             el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.9),
             "Episodic", topic_tags
@@ -582,7 +582,7 @@ fn session_update_meta_timestamp(session_id: String) -> Void {
     let created_int: Int = str_to_int(old_created)
     let new_content: String = session_make_content(session_id, old_title, created_int, ts, old_folder)
     let tags: String = "[\"session\",\"session:meta\",\"Conversation\"]"
-    let new_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let new_id: String = wt_node(
         new_content, "Conversation", "session:meta",
         el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags
@@ -629,7 +629,7 @@ fn session_auto_title(session_id: String, first_message: String) -> Void {
     let created_int: Int = str_to_int(old_created)
     let new_content: String = session_make_content(session_id, new_title, created_int, ts, old_folder)
     let tags: String = "[\"session\",\"session:meta\",\"Conversation\"]"
-    let new_id: String = engram_node_full(
+    let new_id: String = wt_node(
         new_content, "Conversation", "session:meta",
         el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.7), el_from_float(0.9),
         "Episodic", tags

soul.el

@@ -657,6 +657,23 @@ if is_genesis && safe_to_seed {
     }
 }
 
+// CRASH RECOVERY (neuron#117). Deltas the previous process staged but could not
+// hand to the owner are still on disk — the spool is a filesystem queue, not a
+// memory buffer, precisely so that a soul that died mid-flight does not take its
+// unpushed writes with it. Drain them before serving, so recovered memories are
+// durable and recallable from the owner from the first request onward.
+//
+// Safe on a clean boot: an empty spool means no HTTP call at all. Safe in file
+// mode: wt_drain returns immediately when ENGRAM_URL is unset.
+let wt_recovered: Int = wt_drain()
+if wt_recovered > 0 {
+    println("[soul] write-through: recovered " + int_to_str(wt_recovered)
+        + " nodes from a previous process's spool -> persistence owner")
+}
+if wt_recovered < 0 {
+    println("[soul] write-through: spool present but the persistence owner is unreachable — queued, will retry on heartbeat")
+}
+
 println("[soul] serving on port " + int_to_str(port))
 http_serve_async(port, "handle_request")
 println("[soul] awareness loop starting")

stewardship.el

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import "memory.el"
 fn steward_log_event(kind: String, detail: String) -> Void {
     let content: String = "STEWARD:" + kind + " | " + detail
     let tags: String = "[\"stewardship\",\"steward:" + kind + "\"]"
-    let discard: String = engram_node_full(
+    let discard: String = wt_node(
         content,
         "StewardshipEvent",
         "steward:" + kind,
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ fn steward_fingerprint_session(input: String, session_id: String) -> String {
         + " formality=" + fs_str
         + " time=" + tb_str
     let sample_tags: String = "[\"behavior\",\"BehaviorSample\",\"stewardship\"]"
-    let discard: String = engram_node_full(
+    let discard: String = wt_node(
         sample_content,
         "BehaviorSample",
         "behavior:" + session_id,

tools/build-soul-from-dist.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# build-soul-from-dist.sh — build a deployable soul from the SAME input CI compiles.
+#
+# THE PROBLEM THIS CLOSES: until now, deploys were built by build-soul.sh, which
+# compiles a scratch amalgam and never touches dist/soul.c. CI compiles dist/soul.c.
+# Two lineages. On 2026-08-09 the committed input fell 2,761 bytes behind the sources
+# while three binaries built the other way were installed on the operator machine —
+# so "what runs" and "what the repo says builds" were different artifacts again,
+# which is the whole of #133 and #111 wearing new clothes.
+#
+# This builds from dist/soul.c with CI's own flags, after asserting that dist/soul.c
+# actually matches the .el sources, and writes a provenance sidecar so a deployer can
+# refuse anything of unknown origin.
+#
+# -rdynamic and -DHAVE_CURL are copied from .gitea/workflows/ci.yaml deliberately.
+# The CI comment explains -rdynamic: without it the runtime cannot resolve its HTTP
+# handler by name via dlsym and the binary serves nothing on every route.
+#
+# usage: build-soul-from-dist.sh <out-binary>
+set -u
+OUT="${1:?usage: build-soul-from-dist.sh <out-binary>}"
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+RUNTIME="$ROOT/vendor/el-runtime/v1.0.0-20260501"
+
+cd "$ROOT" || exit 2
+
+echo "[build-from-dist] GATE: does dist/soul.c match the sources?"
+if ! ./tools/soulc-stamp.sh --check; then
+  echo "[build-from-dist] REFUSING — the build input is stale. Regenerate and stamp first." >&2
+  exit 9
+fi
+
+[ -f "$RUNTIME/el_runtime.c" ] || { echo "pinned runtime missing at $RUNTIME" >&2; exit 2; }
+
+echo "[build-from-dist] compiling dist/soul.c with CI's flags"
+cc -O2 -DHAVE_CURL -rdynamic \
+  -I"$RUNTIME" \
+  dist/soul.c \
+  "$RUNTIME/el_runtime.c" \
+  -lcurl -lpthread -lm \
+  -o "$OUT" || { echo "[build-from-dist] COMPILE FAILED" >&2; exit 3; }
+
+# Provenance sidecar: what a deployer checks before installing anything.
+SRC_SHA="$(shasum -a 256 dist/soul.c | awk '{print $1}')"
+STAMP_SHA="$(shasum -a 256 dist/soul.c.stamp | awk '{print $1}')"
+COMMIT="$(git rev-parse HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)"
+DIRTY="clean"; [ -n "$(git status --porcelain -- '*.el' dist/soul.c 2>/dev/null)" ] && DIRTY="DIRTY"
+cat > "$OUT.provenance" <<EOF
+{"built_from":"dist/soul.c",
+ "dist_soul_c_sha256":"$SRC_SHA",
+ "stamp_sha256":"$STAMP_SHA",
+ "git_commit":"$COMMIT",
+ "worktree":"$DIRTY",
+ "runtime":"vendor/el-runtime/v1.0.0-20260501",
+ "flags":"-O2 -DHAVE_CURL -rdynamic"}
+EOF
+
+echo "[build-from-dist] OK -> $OUT ($(wc -c < "$OUT" | tr -d ' ') bytes)"
+echo "[build-from-dist] provenance -> $OUT.provenance (commit ${COMMIT:0:8}, worktree $DIRTY)"

tools/soulc-stamp.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# soulc-stamp.sh — make it impossible for dist/soul.c to drift from the sources
+# in silence.
+#
+# THE PROBLEM (neuron#133, and its own words): "Nothing in the tree regenerates
+# this file. Only a human running the recipe. It lags in batches, never
+# per-change, and it will drift again."
+#
+# It drifted. On 2026-08-07 a CI or GKE build off main would have shipped an
+# engine with NONE of five merged fixes — including a P0 safety fix — while
+# main's source read as correct. CI compiles dist/soul.c, not the .el files, so
+# the source being right is not the same as the build being right.
+#
+# WHY A STAMP AND NOT AUTO-REGENERATION: the CI workflow says elc cannot run on
+# the runner ("elb on Linux would OOM the runner (elc uses 24GB+ virtual memory
+# on a 16GB host)"). So the build cannot regenerate the file itself. What it CAN
+# do, for free and with no compiler, is refuse to compile a stale one.
+#
+# The stamp records a fingerprint of every .el source that feeds the amalgam at
+# the moment it was generated. --check recomputes and compares. Divergence is a
+# build failure with the recipe in the message, not a silent ship.
+#
+#   soulc-stamp.sh --write   after regenerating dist/soul.c (records the fingerprint)
+#   soulc-stamp.sh --check   in CI, before the compile (fails on drift)
+set -u
+MODE="${1:---check}"
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+STAMP="$ROOT/dist/soul.c.stamp"
+AMALGAM="$ROOT/dist/soul.c"
+
+# Every .el at the repo root is an input to the amalgam. Sorted so the hash is
+# order-independent; content-only so timestamps and checkouts do not perturb it.
+fingerprint() {
+  (
+    cd "$ROOT" || exit 1
+    for f in $(ls -1 *.el 2>/dev/null | sort); do
+      printf '%s  %s\n' "$(shasum -a 256 "$f" | awk '{print $1}')" "$f"
+    done
+  )
+}
+
+case "$MODE" in
+  --write)
+    [ -f "$AMALGAM" ] || { echo "no dist/soul.c to stamp — regenerate it first" >&2; exit 2; }
+    {
+      echo "# soul.c.stamp — fingerprint of the .el sources dist/soul.c was generated from."
+      echo "# Written by tools/soulc-stamp.sh --write. Do not hand-edit."
+      echo "# generated_amalgam_sha256 $(shasum -a 256 "$AMALGAM" | awk '{print $1}')"
+      echo "# generated_amalgam_bytes  $(wc -c < "$AMALGAM" | tr -d ' ')"
+      fingerprint
+    } > "$STAMP"
+    echo "stamped $(fingerprint | wc -l | tr -d ' ') sources -> dist/soul.c.stamp"
+    ;;
+
+  --check)
+    if [ ! -f "$STAMP" ]; then
+      echo "FAIL: dist/soul.c.stamp is missing — the build input is unverifiable." >&2
+      echo "      Regenerate the amalgam, then: tools/soulc-stamp.sh --write" >&2
+      exit 1
+    fi
+    RECORDED="$(grep -v '^#' "$STAMP")"
+    CURRENT="$(fingerprint)"
+    if [ "$RECORDED" = "$CURRENT" ]; then
+      echo "soulc-stamp: OK — dist/soul.c matches the .el sources"
+      exit 0
+    fi
+    echo "FAIL: dist/soul.c is STALE. It does not match the current .el sources." >&2
+    echo "" >&2
+    echo "CI compiles dist/soul.c, not the .el files. Shipping this means shipping" >&2
+    echo "an engine that does not contain the merged source. That is neuron#133," >&2
+    echo "which once hid five merged fixes including a P0 safety fix." >&2
+    echo "" >&2
+    echo "Sources that changed since the amalgam was generated:" >&2
+    diff <(printf '%s\n' "$RECORDED") <(printf '%s\n' "$CURRENT") \
+      | grep -E '^[<>]' | awk '{print "  " $1 " " $3}' | sort -u >&2
+    echo "" >&2
+    echo "Fix: regenerate the amalgam, then tools/soulc-stamp.sh --write" >&2
+    exit 1
+    ;;
+
+  *)
+    echo "usage: soulc-stamp.sh [--check|--write]" >&2; exit 2 ;;
+esac