# Release Notes — Protocol Stack V2

> **Freeze Date:** 2026-06-06
> **Git Commit:** `96b816c`
> **Verdict:** **GO** ✅

---

## What's New

Protocol Stack V2 is a **slimmed three-layer agent architecture** that replaces the bloated single-document approach with a clean, auditable, and portable protocol stack.

### Three-Layer Architecture

```
Layer 1: AGENTS.md        — Execution Protocol (how to plan & execute tasks)
Layer 2: GOVERNANCE.md    — Execution Governance (how to manage & monitor)
Layer 3: PORTFOLIO.md     — Portfolio Management (how to coordinate projects)
```

### Automated Verification

- `npm run audit` — 91 checks across all three layers, generates `audit-report.md`
- `npm run upgrade` — 62 checks for OpenClaw compatibility after upgrades

### Key Metrics

| Metric | V1 | V2 | Δ |
|--------|-----|-----|------|
| Protocol Files | 56,002 bytes | 44,136 bytes | **−21%** |
| Audit Checks | — | 91 | New |
| Audit PASS | — | 78 | — |
| Audit FAIL | — | 0 | — |
| Upgrade Tests | — | 62 | New |
| Upgrade PASS | — | 62 | — |
| OpenClaw Deps | — | 0 (scripts) | — |
| Self-Hosting | — | 80/100 | — |

## What Changed

### Expanded
- Governance protocol (state machine, heartbeat, blocker, health score, auto-stop)
- Portfolio management (registry, priority, resource allocation, kill/pause/promotion)
- Protocol reference directory (`protocol-reference/quality-gates.md`, `metrics.md`, `templates.md`)
- Five new audit/upgrade scripts
- Compatibility strategy documents

### Shrunk
- AGENTS.md: −14% (removed 6 non-protocol sections, condensed §6)
- GOVERNANCE.md: −34% (removed §12, migrated templates to reference)
- PORTFOLIO.md: −15% (moved example tables to reference)

### Removed (no functional loss)
- Inline template code blocks → extracted to `protocol-reference/templates.md`
- AGENTS.md non-protocol sections → configuration no longer in execution protocol
- GOVERNANCE.md §12 Portfolio Integration → already covered by PORTFOLIO.md

## Upgrade Impact

| Scenario | Effort | Changes Required |
|----------|--------|-----------------|
| Patch upgrade | 0 min | None |
| Minor upgrade | 5 min | Re-register cron, verify tool names |
| Major upgrade | 15 min | Update tool name refs (max 5 locations) |
| OpenClaw deprecation | 2h | Switch to crontab + alternate LLM |

## Known WARNs (13 total)

All WARNs are expected conditions:

- **Hard Rules**: Current count 3, target ≥ 5 — requires recurring pattern promotion
- **No active project data**: Progress logs, blocker files, and execution audits are only created during project execution
- **Project directories found**: 4 existing directories flagged for duplicate work scan

## Self-Hosting Readiness

**Score: 80/100**

| Component | Portable? |
|-----------|-----------|
| Protocol files (markdown) | ✅ Fully |
| Audit scripts (Node.js) | ✅ Fully (zero OpenClaw deps) |
| Templates | ✅ Fully |
| Runtime engine | ⚠️ Needs LLM or replacement |
| Cron orchestration | ⚠️ Needs system cron |

---

## Conclusion

V2 is frozen, regression-tested, and ready for production use.

**62/62 upgrade tests PASS**
**78/91 audit checks PASS, 0 FAIL**
**Cross-references: 8 refs to protocol-reference/, all valid**
**Zero OpenClaw internal API dependencies in audit code**