# Change Protocol

For each candidate improvement, record:

- deficiency/opportunity, trigger, prior state, and minimal failure/discovery shape;
- source, contributor provenance, scope, dependencies, and why not already represented;
- expected consequences and possible regressions;
- compatibility with Σᴿ, ICG, and kernel invariants;
- candidate survivors and any witness-backed eliminations;
- test plan, rollback, and reopening conditions;
- validation receipts and final disposition: rejected, candidate, experimental,
  or canonical.

Workflow: observe -> localize -> reconstruct -> search -> classify -> test at
least one additional case where feasible -> record -> propose -> validate ->
commit authorized delta -> update current state and filters. Never rewrite the
kernel from one favorable output.