Lifeboats Carry Source Code, Not Just Lessons

Press Release

abcd lets you bundle source code into your lifeboats. Running /abcd:disembark pack <repo> <path> --with-code packs not only the synthesised brief, principles, and reviews, but also a curated copy of the existing implementation. On the receiving end, /abcd:embark from <path> --with-code unpacks both the design lessons AND the working code, so the new project starts running immediately rather than rebuilding from scratch.

"We were running disembark for big rewrites where the lessons were the goal, but for some projects we just wanted to fork-and-improve," said Bob, staff engineer. "Now I can choose: rebuild clean, or carry the code over and refactor where it matters."

Why This Matters

abcd deliberately scopes code-shipping out of the base lifeboat: the lifeboat captures lessons (principles, decisions, reviews), and code-rescuer extracts patterns from source without ever copying source itself. This is right for greenfield rewrites but wrong for the substantial fraction of cases where users want to fork-and-improve rather than rebuild.

Code bundling needs a thoughtful scope decision (source dirs only? everything tracked? curator-driven? user-picked?) and a corresponding lifeboat shape. The --with-code flag is the extension point; the simpler "lessons-only" model ships first, with code bundling added once real disembark/embark cycles provide evidence.

What's In Scope

• --with-code flag on /abcd:disembark pack <repo> <path> (pack code into lifeboat)
• --with-code flag on /abcd:embark from <path> (unpack code from lifeboat)
• Code scope decision: source dirs / everything tracked / curator-driven / user-picked (one wins)
• Updated lifeboat shape with code/ subdirectory and manifest
• code-rescuer agent extended (currently principle-only) to make scope-aware copy decisions

What's Out of Scope

• Migrating existing lifeboats forward to include code retroactively (covered by itd-9 schema migration)
• Selective code "diff" packing (only changed files vs full snapshot) — possible future extension
• Test-suite carrying as a separate axis (could be future intent)

Acceptance Criteria

BDD format, per itd-1-acceptance-gates. These gates are checked by intent-fidelity-reviewer when this intent moves to shipped/.

• Given a project with a src/ directory and /abcd:disembark pack <repo> <path> --with-code is invoked, when disembark completes, then the lifeboat at <path> contains a code/ subdirectory holding the curated source AND a code/_manifest.json declaring per-file scope decision (copy_verbatim / copy_redacted / excluded with reason).
• Given a lessons-only lifeboat (no code/ subdirectory), when the user runs /abcd:embark from <path> --with-code against it, then the command warns "this lifeboat carries lessons only; nothing to unpack as code" and embarks the brief content normally without erroring.
• Given a code-bundled lifeboat, when /abcd:embark from <path> --with-code runs, then the unpacked repo contains the source under the documented destination (e.g., src/ matching the disembark scope) AND the embark report records the per-file copy outcomes.
• Given the user declines code curation at disembark time (or runs disembark pack <repo> <path> without --with-code), when disembark completes, then no code/ directory is written to the lifeboat — the --with-code flag is the only path to code shipping; default behaviour stays lessons-only.
• Given disembark pack <repo> <path> --with-code is invoked on a repo where the curator-suggested defaults exclude a file the user wants included, when the user inspects the curator output interactively, then the user can override the per-file decision before disembark commits the lifeboat.
• Given a code-bundled lifeboat, when /abcd:launch ship runs against it, then code/ is not automatically promoted to the public abcd/ repo — code shipping respects the launch payload manifest's default-deny semantics; explicit allow-list entries are required.

SOTA

Surveyed on 2026-10-23; sources, evidence tiers and the local fit risks are in the harness, interop and lifeboats SOTA note, which reuses the itd-35 manifest finding in the same day's security and isolation note.

• git answers two different questions first-party: git archive writes one tree (the named commit's tree only: no history, and no uncommitted or untracked work unless --add-file names it), honours export-ignore and export-subst from the tree's own .gitattributes, stores the commit id in a pax header; git bundle packs objects and refs for offline transfer, verify checks it "will apply cleanly", a self-contained bundle unpacks into an empty repository, and it carries no index, working tree, stash, config or hooks (git documentation).
• Scope can be declared in the repository: export-ignore is the maintained in-tree statement of "not part of the shipped tree"; a curator starts from that baseline and the manifest records only deviations with their reasons.
• BagIt (RFC 8493) is the standard for a payload with a per-file manifest: data/, manifest-<alg>.txt with one checksum per payload file, "complete" (everything listed exists and everything present is listed) against "valid" (every checksum verifies), SHA-512 recommended, and a note that manifests do not resist deliberate tampering. The draft's code/_manifest.json is BagIt-shaped, one digest per payload file and the complete/valid distinction, plus a decision column BagIt does not have; it is not a BagIt manifest that BagIt tooling would read.
• The lifeboat's integrity manifest is being shaped as a flat digest-per-file list verified on extracted files (itd-35); code/ is more rows in it, not a second mechanism.
• The launch bundler is default-deny by construction ("no include pattern can promote a denied path", internal/core/launch/bundle.go), so code/ never reaches a launch payload unless named.

Path 2 — a native code/ family shaped to git archive scoping (export-ignore baseline, curator suggestions, per-file override recorded with its reason) and a BagIt-shaped manifest, with an opt-in git bundle as the history carrier verified on embark. git archive carries HEAD's tree only, and a project is packed when it is being left behind, which is when uncommitted work exists: pack reports every uncommitted or untracked file it leaves out, or adds it with --add-file on the person's say-so, and never drops one silently (loud staging). The independent fit-challenge runs at plan time.

Open Questions

• Which scope model wins? Likely user-picked at disembark with curator-suggested defaults, but needs confirmation.
• How does --with-code interact with /abcd:launch's default-deny payload manifest?
• Do code-bundled lifeboats grow large enough to warrant compression / streaming?
• (SOTA 2026-10-23) Does the fork-and-improve case want history (a bundle) or a tree (an archive) by default, and is the choice a flag or a question at pack time?

Audit Notes

Empty. Populated by intent-fidelity-reviewer when intent moves to shipped/.