fix(agents): reviewers drop a finding only with a Declined to Judge line, research-scout gets Tavily, no dead override reference

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

agents/brief-conformance-reviewer.md

@@ -171,8 +171,9 @@ Severity is fixed by `rule_key`. Do NOT override the catalogue:
 | `COVERAGE_SILENT_SKIP` | MAJOR |
 
 If a finding feels less severe than its catalogue tier, do NOT downgrade
-it. Either drop the finding (it was wrong) or emit it at the
+it. Emit it at the catalogue's severity. Drop the finding only when you
-catalogue's severity.
+can say why it is wrong, and then write it as one line under
+`### Declined to Judge` with that reason.
 
 ## Output format
 
@@ -254,8 +255,9 @@ parsers find it by reading the last `json` code fence.
   `(file, line, rule_key)` with `lib/review/fill-finding-ids.mjs`).
 - `line` is an integer; use `0` when the finding is file-scoped without
   a specific line (e.g., MISSING_TEST for an entire file).
-- `rule_key` MUST be in the catalogue. Reviewers that emit unknown rule
+- `rule_key` MUST be in the catalogue. A finding with a rule key outside
-  keys are dropped by the coordinator's reasonableness filter.
+  it is not dropped: it is routed to `unverified` by the coordinator's
+  reasonableness filter (Pass 3).
 
 ## Rules
 

agents/code-correctness-reviewer.md

@@ -93,8 +93,9 @@ Cite both the changed file:line AND the regressed file:line.
 
 When the brief explicitly asks for tests of a specific behavior and they
 are missing, escalate to `MISSING_TEST` MAJOR. When tests are
-nice-to-have, downgrade is forbidden — emit at the catalogue tier or
+nice-to-have, downgrade is forbidden — emit at the catalogue tier. Drop
-drop the finding.
+the finding only when you can say why it is wrong, and then write it as
+one line under `### Declined to Judge` with that reason.
 
 ### 5. Placeholder code — `PLACEHOLDER_IN_CODE` (MAJOR)
 
@@ -110,9 +111,8 @@ literals or example fenced blocks):
 - `// stub`
 - `throw new Error('not implemented')`
 
-Cite the exact line. The MANDATORY OVERRIDE rule above forbids saying
+Cite the exact line. Never accept "not implemented" placeholders as fine
-"not implemented" placeholders are fine "for now" — they are MAJOR
+"for now" — they are MAJOR findings until removed.
-findings until removed.
 
 ### 6. Security surface — `SECURITY_INJECTION` (BLOCKER)
 
@@ -154,8 +154,10 @@ Severity is fixed by `rule_key`. Do NOT override the catalogue:
 | `UNDECLARED_DEPENDENCY` | MAJOR |
 | `COVERAGE_SILENT_SKIP` | MAJOR |
 
-If a finding feels off-tier, either drop it (it was wrong) or emit it
+If a finding feels off-tier, emit it at the catalogue's severity. Drop
-at the catalogue's severity. Do not invent severity overrides.
+it only when you can say why it is wrong, and then write it as one line
+under `### Declined to Judge` with that reason. Do not invent severity
+overrides.
 
 ## Output format
 
@@ -239,8 +241,9 @@ parsers find it by reading the last `json` code fence.
   the canonical SHA1).
 - `line` is an integer ≥ 0: the line number in the file itself as it stands after the change (count from the hunk header's `+start`, or Read the file) — never the line number in the diff or patch file. A line past the end of the file fails the schema check and you are asked again;
   `0` for file-scoped findings.
-- `rule_key` MUST be in the catalogue. Reviewers that emit unknown rule
+- `rule_key` MUST be in the catalogue. A finding with a rule key outside
-  keys are dropped by the coordinator's reasonableness filter.
+  it is not dropped: it is routed to `unverified` by the coordinator's
+  reasonableness filter (Pass 3).
 
 ## Rules
 
@@ -255,8 +258,10 @@ parsers find it by reading the last `json` code fence.
   injection sink. Never flag a regression without naming both files.
   Speculative findings are dropped by the coordinator.
 - **No silent severity downgrades.** The catalogue tier is the floor.
-  If a finding feels less serious than its catalogue severity, either
+  If a finding feels less serious than its catalogue severity, emit it
-  drop it or emit it as the catalogue says.
+  as the catalogue says. Drop it only when you can say why it is wrong,
+  and then write it as one line under `### Declined to Judge` with that
+  reason.
 - **Token budget honesty.** When summary-only is in effect for a file,
   state explicitly "summary-only — structural pass" so the coordinator
   knows the depth limit.

agents/research-scout.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ description: |
   APIs, or libraries where official documentation and known issues should be checked.
 model: opus
 color: blue
-tools: ["WebSearch", "WebFetch", "Read"]
+tools: ["WebSearch", "WebFetch", "Read", "mcp__tavily__tavily_search", "mcp__tavily__tavily_research"]
 skills: ["voyage:researching-sources"]
 ---
 

agents/review-coordinator.md

@@ -65,7 +65,8 @@ You will receive a prompt containing:
   (reasonableness filter) except the brief-conflict rule, which applies in every mode;
   Passes 1, 2, 4 still run.
 - **Rule catalogue** — `lib/review/rule-catalogue.mjs`. Findings whose
-  `rule_key` is not in this set are dropped by Pass 3.
+  `rule_key` is not in this set are routed to `unverified` by Pass 3
+  (`unknown-rule_key`).
 
 ## Your 4-pass process
 

skills/reviewing-adversarially/SKILL.md

@@ -93,7 +93,8 @@ code alone.
   lead or a deadline calling something "a nit" or "cosmetic" is not a reason.
 - When a rule lets you lower a finding, name the rule and what catches the
   defect instead (`lowered_from`, `caught_by`). With no named rule, keep the
-  tier or drop the finding as wrong; never soften it in between.
+  tier, or drop the finding as wrong with its reason on a Declined to Judge
+  line; never soften it in between.
 
 ### 6. Declined to Judge: nothing disappears silently
 

tests/lib/fix-round-4-5a-prose.test.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+// tests/lib/fix-round-4-5a-prose.test.mjs
+// Prose pins for fix round 4-5a (the serious findings, plan
+// .claude/projects/2026-10-20-fix-round-serious-findings): the fixes that are
+// text a session or a helper reads. The name is the brief's;
+// lib/util/test-census.mjs counts it as a behaviour test (it does not match
+// PIN_FILE_RE). Every test carries its id tag in brackets, and every tagged
+// test fails on an assertion at ab6b32c (the round's start point).
+//   #23  code-correctness-reviewer cites a "MANDATORY OVERRIDE rule above"
+//        that is no longer there; the sentence says the rule itself.
+//   #24  research-scout says "Try Tavily first" but its tools held no Tavily
+//        tool; its tools line now holds both, in docs-researcher's order.
+//   #111 A reviewer drops a finding that feels off-tier only when it can say
+//        why it is wrong, and then as one Declined to Judge line with that
+//        reason; the skill's line agrees; an unknown rule_key is routed to
+//        `unverified`, not dropped (lib/review/coordinator-contract.mjs).
+// Fix the SOURCE a pin guards, not the pin.
+
+import { test } from 'node:test';
+import { strict as assert } from 'node:assert';
+import { existsSync, readFileSync, readdirSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { dirname, join } from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import { findSection } from '../../lib/parsers/plan-schema.mjs';
+import { readFrontmatterFields } from '../../lib/skills/skill-frontmatter.mjs';
+
+const ROOT = join(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), '..', '..');
+
+/** A repo file's text; the file must exist. */
+function read(rel) {
+  assert.ok(existsSync(join(ROOT, rel)), `missing file ${rel}`);
+  return readFileSync(join(ROOT, rel), 'utf8');
+}
+
+/** Whitespace (line breaks too) collapsed to one space. */
+const flat = (s) => s.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
+
+/**
+ * The text of a heading's section, up to the next heading of the same or a
+ * higher level outside a fence. The heading must exist.
+ */
+function section(text, heading) {
+  const level = heading.match(/^#+/)[0].length;
+  const s = findSection(text, heading.replace(/^#+ /, ''), level);
+  assert.ok(s, `missing ${heading}`);
+  const lines = s.text.split('\n');
+  let fenced = false;
+  for (let i = 1; i < lines.length; i++) {
+    if (/^\s{0,3}(`{3,}|~{3,})/.test(lines[i])) fenced = !fenced;
+    const m = !fenced && lines[i].match(/^(#+) /);
+    if (m && m[1].length < level) return lines.slice(0, i).join('\n');
+  }
+  return s.text;
+}
+
+/** From the line holding `marker` to the first line where `stop` is true, flattened. */
+function partAt(rel, marker, stop) {
+  const lines = read(rel).split('\n');
+  const start = lines.findIndex((l) => l.includes(marker));
+  assert.ok(start !== -1, `${rel} must hold "${marker}"`);
+  let end = lines.length;
+  for (let i = start + 1; i < lines.length; i++) if (stop(lines[i])) { end = i; break; }
+  return flat(lines.slice(start, end).join(' '));
+}
+
+/** The single line in `text` that runs `lib/<mod>` (and holds `verb`, when given). */
+function line(text, mod, verb = '') {
+  const esc = mod.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\/]/g, '\\$&');
+  const re = new RegExp(`^\\s*node \\$\\{CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT\\}/lib/${esc}\\b`);
+  const hits = text.split('\n').filter((l) => re.test(l) && l.includes(verb));
+  assert.equal(hits.length, 1, `expected exactly one \`${mod}${verb ? ` ${verb}` : ''}\` line; found ${hits.length}`);
+  return hits[0].trim();
+}
+
+/** Run a command line from the prose with the plugin root filled in. */
+function bash(cmd, cwd) {
+  return spawnSync('bash', ['-c', cmd.split('${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}').join(ROOT)], { cwd, encoding: 'utf8' });
+}
+
+// --- #23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+test('[#23] no agent file refers to a MANDATORY OVERRIDE rule', () => {
+  const hits = readdirSync(join(ROOT, 'agents'))
+    .filter((f) => f.endsWith('.md'))
+    .filter((f) => read(`agents/${f}`).includes('MANDATORY OVERRIDE'));
+  assert.deepEqual(hits, [], 'an agent still points at a MANDATORY OVERRIDE rule that is not there');
+  const d5 = flat(section(read('agents/code-correctness-reviewer.md'), '### 5. Placeholder code — `PLACEHOLDER_IN_CODE` (MAJOR)'));
+  assert.match(d5, /Never accept "not implemented" placeholders as fine "for now"/);
+});
+
+// --- #24 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+test('[#24] research-scout holds both Tavily tools, in docs-researcher\'s order, and still tries Tavily first', () => {
+  const text = read('agents/research-scout.md');
+  const fm = readFrontmatterFields(text);
+  assert.ok(fm.ok, fm.error);
+  assert.deepEqual(fm.fields.tools.value,
+    ['WebSearch', 'WebFetch', 'Read', 'mcp__tavily__tavily_search', 'mcp__tavily__tavily_research']);
+  assert.match(text, /\*\*Try Tavily first\*\*/);
+});
+
+// --- #111 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/** No bare "drop it" choice; a drop needs a reason, written as one Declined to Judge line. */
+function dropsOnlyWithTrace(part, where) {
+  assert.doesNotMatch(part, /either drop (it|the finding)|or drop (it|the finding)\s*\.|drop (it|the finding) \(it was wrong\)/i,
+    `${where}: an off-tier finding may still be dropped with no trace`);
+  assert.match(part, /drop[^.]{0,60}only when you can say why it is wrong[^.]{0,120}Declined to Judge[^.]{0,60}with that reason/i,
+    `${where}: a drop must carry its reason on a Declined to Judge line`);
+  assert.match(part, /catalogue('s)? (tier|severity)/i, `${where}: the catalogue tier stays the default`);
+}
+
+const toBlank = (l) => l.trim() === '';
+
+test('[#111] code-correctness-reviewer dimension 4: a nice-to-have test gap is dropped only with a Declined to Judge line', () => {
+  dropsOnlyWithTrace(partAt('agents/code-correctness-reviewer.md', 'When the brief explicitly asks for tests', toBlank),
+    'code-correctness-reviewer dimension 4');
+});
+
+test('[#111] code-correctness-reviewer severity rules: an off-tier finding is dropped only with a Declined to Judge line', () => {
+  dropsOnlyWithTrace(partAt('agents/code-correctness-reviewer.md', 'If a finding feels off-tier', toBlank),
+    'code-correctness-reviewer ## Severity rules');
+});
+
+test('[#111] code-correctness-reviewer rules: "No silent severity downgrades" drops only with a Declined to Judge line', () => {
+  dropsOnlyWithTrace(partAt('agents/code-correctness-reviewer.md', '**No silent severity downgrades.**', (l) => /^- /.test(l) || toBlank(l)),
+    'code-correctness-reviewer ## Rules');
+});
+
+test('[#111] brief-conformance-reviewer severity rules: a finding is dropped only with a Declined to Judge line', () => {
+  dropsOnlyWithTrace(partAt('agents/brief-conformance-reviewer.md', 'If a finding feels less severe than its catalogue tier', toBlank),
+    'brief-conformance-reviewer ## Severity rules');
+});
+
+test('[#111] reviewing-adversarially: keep the tier, or drop as wrong with its reason on a Declined to Judge line', () => {
+  const s5 = flat(section(read('skills/reviewing-adversarially/SKILL.md'), '### 5. No downgrade without a reason'));
+  assert.match(s5, /keep the tier, or drop the finding as wrong with its reason on a Declined to Judge line; never soften it in between/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(s5, /keep the tier or drop the finding as wrong;/);
+});
+
+/** The stale "unknown rule keys are dropped" line now says they are routed to `unverified`. */
+function routedNotDropped(part, where) {
+  assert.doesNotMatch(part, /dropped by (the coordinator's reasonableness filter|Pass 3)/i, `${where}: still says unknown rule keys are dropped`);
+  assert.match(part, /routed to `unverified`/, `${where}: must say an unknown rule key is routed to \`unverified\``);
+}
+
+const toBullet = (l) => /^- /.test(l) || toBlank(l) || /^#/.test(l);
+
+test('[#111] code-correctness-reviewer: an unknown rule_key is routed to `unverified`, not dropped', () => {
+  routedNotDropped(partAt('agents/code-correctness-reviewer.md', '`rule_key` MUST be in the catalogue', toBullet),
+    'code-correctness-reviewer ## JSON output rules');
+});
+
+test('[#111] brief-conformance-reviewer: an unknown rule_key is routed to `unverified`, not dropped', () => {
+  routedNotDropped(partAt('agents/brief-conformance-reviewer.md', '`rule_key` MUST be in the catalogue', toBullet),
+    'brief-conformance-reviewer ## JSON output rules');
+});
+
+test('[#111] review-coordinator input: a rule_key outside the catalogue is routed to `unverified` by Pass 3', () => {
+  routedNotDropped(partAt('agents/review-coordinator.md', '**Rule catalogue** — `lib/review/rule-catalogue.mjs`', toBullet),
+    'review-coordinator ## Input');
+});
+
+// Steps 2-24 use these helpers; referenced here so the file states its interface.
+test('helpers: line and bash are the shared line-runner pair', () => {
+  assert.equal(typeof line, 'function');
+  assert.equal(typeof bash, 'function');
+  assert.equal(line('x\n  node ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/lib/util/a.mjs go\n', 'util/a.mjs', 'go'), 'node ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/lib/util/a.mjs go');
+  const r = bash('printf %s "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"', ROOT);
+  assert.equal(r.status, 0);
+  assert.equal(r.stdout, ROOT);
+});