{
  "decision": {
    "type": "choice",
    "instructions": "`packet` describes the state of an automated engineering lane. The conductor never writes product code or runs gates; it chooses the NEXT externally visible action. Use priority DISPATCH > ASK > STOP. Judge any proposal in the packet, then label what happens next. A wrong proposed actor is not itself STOP: discard the proposal and DISPATCH the proper actor if already authorized. Stale evidence or worker prose leads to fresh independent verification. Existing capability with no proven defect leads to end-to-end QA. Standing owner authority for routine repair or review beats assistant retry caps. Out-of-allowlist mutation needs ASK unless a compliant in-scope action is available. A banned route with an approved replacement leads to DISPATCH.",
    "criteria": {
      "STOP": "Only when no useful automated dispatch is permitted AND no open human question would change that, such as an owner hold or refusal, or an active writer/QA collision on the only authorized worktree with no authorized isolation.",
      "ASK": "Only when a specific human clarification, scope amendment, spending, deployment, provider, security, account, or device decision is required before useful work. Required work exceeds the allowlist and no in-scope alternative exists.",
      "DISPATCH": "Any safe bounded worker, verifier, reviewer, QA, fresh fixer, approved replacement route, or authorized isolated worktree can run now. Includes replacing a wrongly proposed actor with the proper authorized one."
    }
  },
  "manager": {
    "type": "choice",
    "instructions": "`packet` describes a work lane and the candidate or evidence returned for it. The manager never writes product code or runs gates; it classifies the current candidate/evidence state as the NEXT externally visible action. Evidence that is stale or missing with nothing known wrong is VERIFY. An open candidate known wrong is REJECT; the same discovery after closure is REOPEN. An out-of-scope candidate with a compliant in-scope repair is REJECT; if no compliant solution exists and expansion is required it is ESCALATE.",
    "criteria": {
      "ACCEPT": "Every required criterion and review is complete, current, independent, scope/SHA-bound, authorized, and unaffected by later drift.",
      "VERIFY": "Evidence is missing or stale and no defect is established. Dispatch fresh independent verification.",
      "REJECT": "The active open-lane candidate or evidence is known invalid or noncompliant: failing or waived required criteria, false done, fabricated PASS, wrong test surface, or gratuitous out-of-scope edits when a compliant path exists.",
      "REOPEN": "A previously accepted or closed lane is invalidated later by regression, material drift, owner outcome rejection, or newly discovered invalid closing evidence.",
      "ESCALATE": "Resolution requires authority absent from the packet: unavoidable scope expansion, spending, deployment, security, account, provider, or device permission."
    }
  }
}