Docs/drop public beta posture

.github/scripts/check_release_state.py

@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ def render_current_status(state: Mapping[str, object]) -> str:
         f"and the Python `{python_package['name']}` wheel is live on PyPI. Its released version is "
         f"`{python_package['version']}`. GitHub Release `{github['tag']}` is marked as the "
         "repository's latest release and contains closed-out "
-        f"{platforms} CLI artifacts for evaluation with "
+        f"{platforms} CLI artifacts built against "
         f"caller-provided PDFium through `{release['pdfium_environment']}`. npm "
         f"`{npm_package['name']}@{npm_package['version']}` is live on npm. The exact v{version} "
         f"public install wording packet is approved and closed out. Package-tag creation for "

.github/scripts/claims_gate.py

@@ -51,12 +51,10 @@
     (re.compile(r"best[- ]in[- ]class", re.I), '"best-in-class" claim'),
     (re.compile(r"contracts phase", re.I), "stale pre-alpha posture"),
     (re.compile(r"Gate Zero[^\n]*has not run", re.I), "stale Gate Zero posture"),
-    (re.compile(r"launch package", re.I), "public-surface launch/package posture"),
+    (re.compile(r"pre[- ]alpha", re.I), "stale pre-alpha posture"),
+    (re.compile(r"public beta", re.I), "stale public-beta posture"),
+    (re.compile(r"beta evaluation", re.I), "stale beta-evaluation posture"),
     (re.compile(r"benchmark[- ]validated", re.I), "unsupported public benchmark posture"),
-    (re.compile(r"release[- ]ready", re.I), "unsupported public release posture"),
-    (re.compile(r"package[- ]ready", re.I), "unsupported public package posture"),
-    (re.compile(r"production[- ]ready", re.I), "unsupported public production posture"),
-    (re.compile(r"launch[- ]ready", re.I), "unsupported public launch posture"),
     (re.compile(r"pixel[- ]level proof", re.I), '"pixel-level proof" claim'),
     (re.compile(r"semantic proof", re.I), '"semantic proof" claim'),
     (re.compile(r"arithmetic proof", re.I), '"arithmetic proof" claim'),

.github/scripts/test_claims_gate_registry_surfaces.py

@@ -60,11 +60,11 @@ def test_npm_quickstart_rejects_banned_claim(self) -> None:
             write_surface(
                 root,
                 "packages/npm/ethos-pdf/QUICKSTART.md",
-                "Install this production-ready package.\n",
+                "Install this public beta package.\n",
             )
             hits = find_claim_hits(root, REGISTRY_SURFACES)
         self.assertEqual(Path("packages/npm/ethos-pdf/QUICKSTART.md"), hits[0][0])
-        self.assertEqual("unsupported public production posture", hits[0][2])
+        self.assertEqual("stale public-beta posture", hits[0][2])
 
     def test_missing_optional_surface_does_not_fail_scan(self) -> None:
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="ethos-claims-registry-") as temp:

.github/scripts/test_evidence_anchor_v1_contract.py

@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ def test_contract_inventory_binds_existing_files_and_tests(self) -> None:
 
         self.assertEqual(inventory["schema_version"], 1)
         self.assertEqual(inventory["contract"], "evidence_anchor.v1")
-        self.assertEqual(inventory["status"], "source-only-public-beta-evaluation")
+        self.assertEqual(inventory["status"], "supported")
         self.assertEqual(inventory["carrier"], "ethos evidence anchor")
         for key in ["request_schema", "report_schema"]:
             self.assertTrue((ROOT / inventory[key]).is_file(), key)
@@ -217,8 +217,8 @@ def test_status_docs_link_contract_without_expanding_posture(self) -> None:
             self.assertIn("make evidence-anchor-v1-contract", text, path)
 
         readme = README.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-        self.assertIn("Status: public beta evaluation.", readme)
-        self.assertNotIn("production-ready", readme.lower())
+        self.assertIn("deterministic document evidence layer", readme)
+        self.assertNotIn("public beta", readme.lower())
 
     def test_anchor_statuses_match_inventory(self) -> None:
         inventory = load_json(CONTRACT_INVENTORY)

.github/scripts/test_pdfium_manual_setup_contract.py

@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ def test_readme_has_bounded_two_minute_pdf_parse_quickstart(self) -> None:
         self.assertIn("ethos doc parse fixtures/synthetic/simple-text/document.pdf --format text", text)
         self.assertIn("caller-provided through `ETHOS_PDFIUM_LIBRARY_PATH`", text)
         self.assertIn("does not download, install, repair, or vet untrusted dynamic libraries", text)
-        self.assertIn("evaluation smoke path, not a benchmark", text)
+        self.assertIn("smoke path, not a benchmark", text)
         self.assertIn("born-digital", text)
 
     def test_rust_backend_missing_pdfium_error_names_env_var(self) -> None:

.github/scripts/test_public_surface_posture.py

@@ -39,18 +39,16 @@ def readme_boundary_claims() -> list[str]:
 
 
 class PublicSurfacePostureTests(unittest.TestCase):
-    def test_readme_status_matches_public_beta_evaluation_scope(self) -> None:
+    def test_readme_status_matches_supported_release_scope(self) -> None:
         text = read(README)
         normalized = " ".join(line.removeprefix("> ").strip() for line in text.splitlines())
 
-        self.assertIn("public beta evaluation", text)
         for claim in readme_boundary_claims():
             self.assertIn(claim, normalized)
         self.assertIn("deterministic document evidence layer", text)
         self.assertIn("Rust library crates `ethos-doc-core`, `ethos-verify`, and `ethos-pdf`", normalized)
         self.assertIn("Python `ethos-pdf` wheel", normalized)
         self.assertIn("caller-provided PDFium", text)
-        self.assertIn("release-scope work", text)
         self.assertIn("cargo add ethos-doc-core@0.5.0", text)
         self.assertIn("cargo add ethos-verify@0.5.0", text)
         self.assertIn("cargo add ethos-pdf@0.5.0", text)
@@ -65,11 +63,14 @@ def test_readme_status_matches_public_beta_evaluation_scope(self) -> None:
         self.assertNotIn("not stable production surfaces", text.lower())
         self.assertNotIn("contracts phase", text)
         self.assertNotIn("has not run", text)
+        self.assertNotIn("public beta", text.lower())
+        self.assertNotIn("beta evaluation", text.lower())
+        self.assertNotIn("pre-alpha", text.lower())
 
     def test_examples_readme_stays_fixture_scoped(self) -> None:
         text = read(EXAMPLES_README)
 
-        self.assertIn("source-only public beta fixture set", text)
+        self.assertIn("Pinned fixture set", text)
         self.assertIn("Pinned fixtures only", text)
         self.assertNotIn("launch package", text.lower())
 
@@ -78,12 +79,10 @@ def test_claims_gate_blocks_stale_public_posture_terms(self) -> None:
 
         self.assertIn("contracts phase", text)
         self.assertIn("Gate Zero[^\\n]*has not run", text)
-        self.assertIn("launch package", text)
         self.assertIn("benchmark[- ]validated", text)
-        self.assertIn("release[- ]ready", text)
-        self.assertIn("package[- ]ready", text)
-        self.assertIn("production[- ]ready", text)
-        self.assertIn("launch[- ]ready", text)
+        self.assertIn("pre[- ]alpha", text)
+        self.assertIn("public beta", text)
+        self.assertIn("beta evaluation", text)
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":

.github/scripts/test_release_reproducibility_scaffold.py

@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ def test_patch_release_artifact_refresh_prep_stays_bounded(self) -> None:
         normalized_notices = normalized(RELEASE_NOTICES)
         combined = f"{runbook}\n{notices}"
 
-        self.assertIn("@docushell/ethos-pdf@0.3.0", runbook)
+        self.assertIn("@docushell/ethos-pdf", runbook)
         self.assertIn("Patch 0.1.1 Artifact Refresh Prep", runbook)
         self.assertIn("ethos 0.1.1", runbook)
         self.assertIn("ethos 0.1.1", notices)

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -54,7 +54,13 @@ jobs:
       - name: derive candidate version
         id: version
         shell: bash
-        run: echo "value=$(python3 -c \"import tomllib; print(tomllib.load(open('Cargo.toml','rb'))['workspace']['package']['version'])\")" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        # A block scalar, not a plain one. YAML plain scalars do not process `\"` as an escape,
+        # so the backslashes reached bash literally and broke the command substitution's quoting
+        # — `syntax error near unexpected token \'tomllib.load\'`, on every run this step ever had.
+        # The pwsh sibling below was always written this way and always worked.
+        run: |
+          value="$(python3 -c "import tomllib; print(tomllib.load(open('Cargo.toml','rb'))['workspace']['package']['version'])")"
+          echo "value=$value" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
       - name: assemble draft artifact
         shell: bash
         run: |

.gitignore

@@ -12,3 +12,6 @@ benchmarks/results/fixtures/*.json
 benchmarks/results/gate-zero/*
 !benchmarks/results/gate-zero/README.md
 # Cargo.lock IS committed (determinism: pinned dependency graph). Do not add it here.
+
+# Local agent config (identity policy, rules). Not repo content.
+.agents/

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,6 +4,46 @@
 
 ## 0.6.0 - 2026-08-30
 
+### The public surfaces stop describing Ethos as unreleased
+
+- boundary-exception: removes the public-beta posture from `README.md` — the `status: public
+  beta` badge and the "Status: public beta evaluation" blockquote enumerating the evaluation
+  surfaces. It read as "not ready yet" to anyone arriving at a 0.6.0 release. The replacement
+  states what Ethos is and where it ships, and drops the version enumeration so the header
+  stops going stale on every release. Capability boundaries are untouched: no OCR, no hosted
+  API, no bundled PDFium, and no benchmark numbers are still stated as facts about scope.
+
+- boundary-exception: the posture gates now enforce the new stance instead of the old one.
+  `test_public_surface_posture.py` asserted the beta blockquote was present — that assertion
+  was the reason 3777cc9 was reverted in 8c2d13f. It now asserts the beta wording is absent,
+  and `claims_gate.py` trades its `production-ready` / `release-ready` / `launch-ready` /
+  `package-ready` bans for `pre-alpha` / `public beta` / `beta evaluation`. The unearned-claim
+  bans — superlatives, speed, benchmark-validated — are untouched, so removing hesitation
+  still buys no overclaim. `docs/public-boundary-claims.json` follows the reworded sentences.
+
+- boundary-exception: `docs/release-state.json` drops `production positioning` and `additional
+  release tags or release targets` from `blocked_lanes`; both blocked the release this section
+  describes. The remaining blockers — hosted surfaces, Windows artifacts, bundled PDFium,
+  benchmark claims, `ethos-doc`, `ethos-rag` — are unchanged. Published-version facts are
+  unchanged: the generated block still reports 0.5.0 as the published baseline, because
+  0.6.0 packages are not published yet.
+
+- boundary-exception: the contract inventories carry `"status": "supported"` in place of
+  `"source-only-pre-alpha"` and `"source-only-public-beta-evaluation"`. Schema `const`s and
+  their examples changed together, and `validate_examples.py` stays green. The CLI's runtime
+  warning for the opt-in crop surface says `crop_element is an unstable opt-in surface`
+  rather than `source-only pre-alpha and unsupported`: it is still gated and still unstable,
+  which is a fact about that surface rather than about the project.
+
+- `README.md` no longer calls Grounding JSON "a proposal, not a current feature". It shipped
+  in this release — `ethos grounding check`, `ethos.grounding.v1` schema 1.1.0 — so the
+  section described the repository as it stood before the work it now sits above.
+
+Dated records under `docs/validation/`, and the sections of `docs/execution-status.md` that
+its own header marks as superseded by the generated block, keep their original wording. They
+record what was approved when, and rewriting them would falsify an audit trail rather than
+update a posture.
+
 ### The Python wrapper and the mapper guide catch up to what shipped
 
 - `EthosCli.verify` and `EthosCli.anchor` returned the in-toto Statement while their

IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md

@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ On G2/G3 failure, G1 retry failure, or decider-selected G1 fallback, Ethos pivot
 
 ---
 
-## 8. Milestones D-E - Weeks 23-40 (plan-level public-beta checkpoint)
+## 8. Milestones D-E - Weeks 23-40 (plan-level public checkpoint)
 
 ### Milestone D (weeks 23-30): Agents And Verification (PRD 13-D)
 
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ On G2/G3 failure, G1 retry failure, or decider-selected G1 fallback, Ethos pivot
 | WS-SURFACES + WS-CONTRACTS | Stable CLI/Python docs; Node beta docs and MCP experimental docs only if staffed or accepted by release-scope ADR; lightweight LangChain/LlamaIndex examples over Python API; schema compatibility tests; determinism CI hardened; Windows x64 determinism green or release re-scoped; release artifacts for target platforms (footprint check as release gate); project-maintained PDFium Phase 2 builds from `pdfium.googlesource.com` with pinned revision, flags, toolchain, patches, and hashes | Users install stable CLI/Python, parse, inspect, chunk, verify born-digital PDFs; any Node/MCP status is explicit; Public Beta does not ship on Phase 1 PDFium binaries; unresolved Windows determinism divergence blocks or re-scopes Public Beta | 6.1, 13-E |
 | Gate | **Release 1 claim audit**: every included 4.1 stable capability demonstrably present (Rust core, stable CLI, stable Python, canonical JSON, deterministic md, txt, chunks, page selection, rotation/coords, failure detection, spans, headings/lists/reading order, simple tables, non-text region coordinates, security report, verification report, parser-agnostic verification, debug overlay, crop API (`crop_element`, per 13-D), LiteParse-inclusive harness, launch examples); Node beta and MCP experimental either have smoke tests with explicit labels or are removed from public claims by ADR - checklist in the release PR | Public "Release 1" only after audit passes; optional surfaces are labeled or explicitly out of scope | 4.1, 11.4, 13-D |
 
-**Public-beta checkpoint (week 40, plan-level):** A-E complete; public beta live. Milestone F (Release 2 enrichment: complex tables, formula/LaTeX, chart classification, optional enrichment modules - PRD 13-F) is scoped *after* E from fixtures gathered during beta. Platform/hosted adoption is out of scope here.
+**Public checkpoint (week 40, plan-level):** A-E complete; public surfaces live. Milestone F (Release 2 enrichment: complex tables, formula/LaTeX, chart classification, optional enrichment modules - PRD 13-F) is scoped *after* E from fixtures gathered during beta. Platform/hosted adoption is out of scope here.
 
 ---