Restore archived tasks, fix dashboard scroll-reset, bind ornith, add Playwright smoke test

- **Restore 82 completed tasks** from tasks/complete/ back to tasks/ top
  level (all <7 days old per the cleanup policy; premature bulk archive
  was fixed).
- **Dashboard: fix scroll-reset on auto-refresh** — renderBoard rebuilds
  the board via innerHTML every 2s, destroying each column-body's
  scrollTop. Now snapshots column-body scrollTop + board.scrollLeft +
  view.scrollTop before rebuild and restores after (matched by
  PHASE_GROUPS index).
- **Dashboard UI additions** (pre-existing unstaged work): approval
  section cards, transition buttons, inline artifact editor (textarea for
  writing missing SPEC/VERDICT/etc from the detail modal).
- **Bind ornith as Implement model** — config.md: Model explicit to
  omlx/Ornith-1.0-35B-4bit-mlx, context window 32768. Interactive
  autopilot already used ornith via opencode default; now explicit.
- **Fix cleanup stub** — automaton-cleanup.sh had a stale --project arg
  pointing at a pytest temp dir (test isolation leak). Rewired to point
  at ~/.automaton.
- **Fix plist-isolation test** — test asserted host plist doesn't exist,
  but a real install creates it. Now snapshots mtime before run, asserts
  unchanged after (only a write during the test counts as bleed).
- **New Playwright smoke test** (tests/test_dashboard_ui.py) — 2 tests:
  board renders tasks, column scroll survives auto-refresh tick.
  Verified the test fails without the scroll fix (scrollTop resets to 0).
  Skipped via importorskip when playwright is absent (main CI stays
  green).
- **Clarify SI loop scope in README** — new-project onboarding section
  documents the framework-scoped self-improvement loop and options
  (leave/pause/create project loop).
- **CHANGELOG** documents all changes including the known model-divergence
  gap (mde tasks marked complete but per-role model binding was never
  implemented).

tasks/state-file-enforcement/SPEC.md

@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+# SPEC: State File Enforcement
+
+## Goal
+Replace the fragile "check which artifacts exist" heuristic for determining task phase with an explicit `.state` file that is the single source of truth for a task's current phase.
+
+## Background
+Currently, `orchestrate.md` and `workflow.md` determine a task's phase by checking which artifact files exist in the task folder (e.g., "if SPEC.md exists but not DESIGN.md, the task is in research phase"). This is unreliable because:
+- Any agent can create any artifact file at any time, bypassing phase ordering
+- File-existence checks are ambiguous (e.g., overlapping conditions when multiple artifacts exist)
+- There's no authoritative record of what phase a task is in — every agent has to re-derive it
+
+## Requirements
+
+### 1. `.state` file format
+- Location: `tasks/{task-name}/.state`
+- Content: a phase name (and optional approval status), one of:
+  - `new`
+  - `research` / `research:awaiting_approval` / `research:approved`
+  - `decomposition` / `decomposition:awaiting_approval` / `decomposition:approved`
+  - `design` / `design:awaiting_approval` / `design:approved`
+  - `test_design` / `test_design:awaiting_approval` / `test_design:approved`
+  - `implement`
+  - `bug_find`
+  - `adversarial_bug_find`
+  - `doc_review`
+  - `referee`
+  - `complete`
+  - `human_intervention`
+- The base phase name (e.g., `research`) is used for backward compatibility and when approval is not applicable
+- The `:awaiting_approval` sub-state means the phase artifact has been produced but not yet approved by the user
+- The `:approved` sub-state means the user has given explicit approval to proceed
+- Only phases with interactive sign-off requirements use sub-states: research, decomposition, design, test_design
+- Phases without sign-off (implement, bug_find, adversarial_bug_find, doc_review, referee) use only the base name
+- The file must be written atomically (write to `.state.tmp`, then rename to `.state`) to prevent partial reads
+- The file must NOT be listed in task artifact checks — it is metadata, not a deliverable
+
+### 2. State transitions
+- Only the Orchestrator (or `status.py`) may write to `.state`
+- Phase prompts must READ `.state` to confirm they are in the correct phase before acting
+- Transition rules match the existing state machine in `workflow.md`:
+  - `new` → `research` (when task folder is created)
+  - `research` → `research:awaiting_approval` (when SPEC.md draft is presented for sign-off)
+  - `research:awaiting_approval` → `research:approved` (when user says APPROVED)
+  - `research:approved` → `decomposition` or `design` or `implement` (when SPEC.md is finalized)
+  - `decomposition` → `decomposition:awaiting_approval` (when DECOMPOSITION.md draft is presented)
+  - `decomposition:awaiting_approval` → `decomposition:approved` (when user says APPROVED)
+  - `decomposition:approved` → sub-task research (when DECOMPOSITION.md is finalized)
+  - `design` → `design:awaiting_approval` (when DESIGN.md draft is presented)
+  - `design:awaiting_approval` → `design:approved` (when user says APPROVED)
+  - `design:approved` → `test_design` or `implement` (when DESIGN.md is finalized)
+  - `test_design` → `test_design:awaiting_approval` (when TEST_PLAN.md draft is presented)
+  - `test_design:awaiting_approval` → `test_design:approved` (when user says APPROVED)
+  - `test_design:approved` → `implement` (when TEST_PLAN.md is finalized)
+  - `implement` → `bug_find` (when IMPLEMENTATION.md is produced — no approval needed)
+  - `bug_find` → `adversarial_bug_find` (when BUG_REPORT.md is produced — no approval needed)
+  - `adversarial_bug_find` → `doc_review` (when ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md is produced — no approval needed)
+  - `doc_review` → `referee` (when DOC_REVIEW.md is produced — no approval needed)
+  - `referee` → `complete` (when VERDICT.md has PASS)
+  - `referee` → `human_intervention` (when VERDICT.md has FAIL or NEEDS_REVIEW)
+
+**Approval gate enforcement:**
+- `status.py --transition` MUST REFUSE to transition past an `:awaiting_approval` sub-state
+- Only `status.py --approve` can move from `:awaiting_approval` to `:approved`
+- Only `status.py --transition` from `:approved` can move to the next phase
+- This makes sign-off enforceable — an agent cannot skip approval and proceed
+
+### 3. Backward compatibility
+- If `.state` exists, it is authoritative
+- If `.state` does not exist, fall back to the artifact-based heuristic (current behavior) and write `.state` with the inferred phase
+- This ensures existing tasks without `.state` continue to work and get migrated on first access
+
+### 4. Artifact validation rules (enforced by `status.py`)
+Each phase has a defined set of artifacts that are ALLOWED and FORBIDDEN in the task folder. These rules are enforced by `status.py --validate-folder` and `status.py --transition`:
+
+**Forbidden artifacts per phase** (artifacts from future phases — must NOT exist):
+
+| Phase | Forbidden artifacts |
+|---|---|
+| `new` | SPEC.md, DESIGN.md, DECOMPOSITION.md, TEST_PLAN.md, IMPLEMENTATION.md, BUG_REPORT.md, ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md, DOC_REVIEW.md, VERDICT.md |
+| `research` | DESIGN.md, DECOMPOSITION.md, TEST_PLAN.md, IMPLEMENTATION.md, BUG_REPORT.md, ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md, DOC_REVIEW.md, VERDICT.md |
+| `decomposition` | DESIGN.md, TEST_PLAN.md, IMPLEMENTATION.md, BUG_REPORT.md, ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md, DOC_REVIEW.md, VERDICT.md |
+| `design` | DECOMPOSITION.md, TEST_PLAN.md, IMPLEMENTATION.md, BUG_REPORT.md, ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md, DOC_REVIEW.md, VERDICT.md |
+| `test_design` | DECOMPOSITION.md, IMPLEMENTATION.md, BUG_REPORT.md, ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md, DOC_REVIEW.md, VERDICT.md |
+| `implement` | BUG_REPORT.md, ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md, DOC_REVIEW.md, VERDICT.md |
+| `bug_find` | ADVERSARIAL_BUG_REPORT.md, DOC_REVIEW.md, VERDICT.md |
+| `adversarial_bug_find` | DOC_REVIEW.md, VERDICT.md |
+| `doc_review` | VERDICT.md |
+| `referee` | (none) |
+| `complete` | (none) |
+| `human_intervention` | (none) |
+
+**Non-artifact files** are never forbidden: `.state`, `VRAM_CONFIG.md`, `PARENT_SPEC.md`, `REVIEW.md`, `.state.tmp`. These are metadata and can exist at any phase.
+
+**Enforcement**: When `status.py --transition` is called, it must check for forbidden artifacts BEFORE allowing the transition. If forbidden artifacts exist, the transition is refused with a clear error identifying the offending artifacts.
+
+### 5. Orchestrator updates
+- Update `prompts/orchestrate.md`:
+  - State determination section must read `.state` first, falling back to artifact heuristic
+  - After each phase transition, the Orchestrator must write `.state` with the new phase name
+  - The `.state` file must be written BEFORE the orchestrator begins executing the next phase
+- Update `prompts/workflow.md`:
+  - Add `.state` as the canonical phase indicator
+  - Note that artifact-based heuristic is a fallback only
+
+### 5. Phase prompt updates
+- Every phase prompt must include a precondition check:
+  ```
+  Read tasks/{task}/.state. If the phase does not match this prompt's phase, STOP and report.
+  ```
+- This is a 2-line addition to each prompt's "Read These Files" section
+
+### 6. Task creation gate
+- Task folders MUST be created via `status.py --create-task` (defined in status-script spec)
+- A valid task folder has a `.state` file with `new` as the initial phase
+- `--validate-folder` checks that task folders have a `.state` file; folders without `.state` were created manually and should be flagged
+- `--audit` flags task folders without `.state` as violations: "Task '{task-name}' was created manually (no .state file). Use 'python ~/.automaton/scripts/status.py --create-task' to create tasks properly."
+
+### 7. Artifact integrity
+- `.state` is NOT an artifact — it should NOT appear in state determination logic that checks artifact files
+- `.state` should be added to `.gitignore` patterns (or documented that it's transient metadata)
+
+## Acceptance Criteria
+- [ ] `.state` file format is specified and documented (including approval sub-states)
+- [ ] Approval sub-states defined for research, decomposition, design, test_design
+- [ ] Approval transition rules defined (`:awaiting_approval` → `:approved` only via `--approve`)
+- [ ] Transition past `:awaiting_approval` without approval is REFUSED by `--transition`
+- [ ] Phases without sign-off (implement, bug_find, etc.) use base names only
+- [ ] Atomic write mechanism is defined (write-to-tmp-then-rename)
+- [ ] Fallback to artifact heuristic when `.state` doesn't exist is specified
+- [ ] Forbidden artifacts per phase are defined and documented
+- [ ] `status.py --validate-folder` enforces forbidden artifacts
+- [ ] `status.py --transition` refuses transitions when forbidden artifacts exist
+- [ ] `status.py --validate-folder` flags task folders without `.state` as manually created
+- [ ] `status.py --audit` flags manually created task folders
+- [ ] `status.py --create-task` is the only valid way to create task folders
+- [ ] `orchestrate.md` updated to read/write `.state`
+- [ ] `workflow.md` updated to reference `.state` as canonical
+- [ ] All phase prompts include `.state` precondition check
+- [ ] State transition rules match existing state machine
+- [ ] `.state` is excluded from artifact-based state determination
+- [ ] Sub-task `.state` files are scoped to sub-task folders
+
+## Non-Goals
+- This spec does not cover the `status.py` script (separate task)
+- This spec does not cover prompt restructuring with FORBIDDEN sections (separate task)
+- This spec does not cover autopilot integration (separate task)