v0.31.2: landing welcome panel spacing

Visual-only patch. The "/" welcome read-view was jammed against the
catalog divider with no top offset and loose paragraph rhythm: the
.main-pane §8 override (padding:0; display:flex) shadows the padded
read-view rule, so the pane gives no padding, and .welcome (max-width
only) never compensated. The welcome surface now owns its breathing
room — 56px top / 48px side gutters, a 680px measure, a text-3xl hero,
and even --space-8 paragraph spacing at --leading-relaxed. Covers both
the signed-out and signed-in welcome.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -23,6 +23,308 @@ skip versions are the composition of each intervening adjacent
 release's steps in order — no A-to-B path is pre-computed beyond
 that.
 
+## 0.31.2 — 2026-05-29
+
+**Patch — landing (`/`) welcome panel spacing. Visual only: CSS in
+`App.css` (`.welcome`). A plain frontend rebuild applies it.**
+
+The welcome read-view was jammed against the catalog divider with no
+top offset and loose, uneven paragraph spacing. Root cause: `.main-pane`
+carries a bare `.main-pane { padding: 0; display: flex }` override (the
+§8 three-column RFC shell) that shadows the earlier padded read-view
+rule, so the pane provides no padding — and `.welcome` (just
+`max-width`) never compensated. The welcome surface now owns its own
+breathing room: 56px top / 48px side gutters, a capped 680px measure,
+a stronger `text-3xl` "Welcome." hero, and even `--space-8` paragraph
+rhythm at `--leading-relaxed`. Applies to both the signed-out and
+signed-in welcome (same `.welcome` class).
+
+Upgrade steps: none. **SHOULD** deploy as a normal code deploy.
+
+## 0.31.1 — 2026-05-29
+
+**Patch — admin Users tab + header UX polish. Visual only: CSS plus
+markup/structure in `Admin.jsx` (no API, schema, config, overlay, or
+secret change). A plain frontend rebuild applies it.**
+
+Two latent CSS defects fixed:
+
+- **`.invite-badge` had no rule.** The "(pending invite)" marker on
+  admin-created-but-unclaimed user rows rendered as bare parenthetical
+  text. It's now a quiet amber pill, consistent with the other status
+  badges.
+- **`.btn-link-quiet` never reset native button chrome.** Used as a
+  bare link-style `<button>` (admin Revoke / Grant / Remove, the modal
+  close ×, and link-buttons in Login / BetaPending), it kept the
+  browser's default grey button box. The reset that the `.otc-login`
+  scope already carried is folded into the base rule, so every
+  `btn-link-quiet` is now a true quiet link.
+
+Users-tab cleanups, all token-based:
+
+- Table column headers no longer wrap (`WRITE-MUTED` was breaking onto
+  two lines); timestamps render as an intentional date-over-time stack
+  instead of a ragged mid-value wrap; the duplicated email in a row's
+  subline (the handle already *is* the email when there's no Gitea
+  login) is de-duplicated; the "Create user + invite" action moves
+  flush-right beside the title; inline DB-column references in the
+  intro copy read as quiet chips.
+
+Header:
+
+- **Inbox (§15.2) trigger restyled for the dark header.** It carried a
+  light-surface treatment — a `gray-200` border and a `gray-50` hover —
+  that rendered as a pale box in the nav and went white-background /
+  white-icon (invisible) on hover. It now speaks the nav-link
+  vocabulary (`.header-about` et al.): borderless, `gray-300` icon
+  brightening to white on a faint translucent hover, unread badge
+  unchanged.
+
+Upgrade steps: none. **SHOULD** deploy as a normal code deploy.
+
+## 0.31.0 — 2026-05-29
+
+**Minor — meta-only repository topology (SPEC §1, ROADMAP #36). RFCs no
+longer graduate into their own Gitea repositories; every RFC lives in
+its meta-repo entry (`rfcs/<slug>.md`) for its whole life, and
+graduation is an in-place `super-draft → active` state flip that keeps
+the body in the entry. The per-RFC-repo machinery — repo creation,
+`RFC.md`/`README.md`/`.rfc/metadata.yaml` seeding, body-strip, the
+five-step transactional sequence and its rollback — is removed. This is
+the framework change behind a much simpler deployer story: one content
+repository, every RFC under `rfcs/`.**
+
+What changed, concretely:
+
+- **Graduation is a single flip.** `POST /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate` now
+  opens one meta-repo PR that re-serializes the entry with
+  `state: active`, the integer `id`, and `graduated_at`/`graduated_by`
+  — **body unchanged, `repo` left null** — then auto-merges it. No repo
+  is created, nothing is seeded, and there is no rollback (an open- or
+  merge-failure leaves the entry a super-draft; a failed merge's PR and
+  branch are cleaned up). The Graduate dialog drops the **Repo name**
+  field (two fields now: integer ID + owners) and the progress stack is
+  two steps (`open_pr`, `merge_pr`).
+- **Active RFCs edit on the meta repo.** Branch/PR/chat dispatch keys on
+  meta-residency (`repo IS NULL`) rather than `state == 'super-draft'`,
+  so an active RFC's branches, body-edit PRs, threads, flags, and
+  `changes` all live on the meta repo exactly as a super-draft's do.
+  `promote-to-branch` names an active RFC's auto-branch
+  `edit-<slug>-<hex>` so the shared-repo cache can attribute it.
+- **Open body-edit PRs no longer block graduation** (§9.8) — the body is
+  kept, so they coexist with the flip.
+- **`refresh_rfc_repo` and the per-RFC read path are dead** for
+  meta-only entries (the reconciler only sweeps entries with a non-null
+  `repo`, of which there are none after the fold-back below).
+
+**Upgrade steps:**
+
+- Deployments **MUST** fold any already-graduated per-RFC-repo RFC back
+  into its meta entry before/with this deploy: restore the per-RFC
+  `RFC.md` body into `rfcs/<slug>.md`, set `repo: null` (keep
+  `state: active` and the integer `id`), and archive the per-RFC repo.
+  An entry left with a non-null `repo` keeps using the retained legacy
+  read path, but **no new** per-RFC repos are ever created. For OHM,
+  RFC-0001 `human` was folded back in driver session 0041.0 (§13.6).
+- No schema migration, no new config, no new secret, no overlay change.
+  A plain code deploy applies it; the running reconciler reconciles the
+  catalog on its next sweep (≤5 min).
+- The `repo:` frontmatter field and the `/api/rfcs/<slug>/blocking-prs`
+  endpoint are **retained** (the field for schema stability + legacy
+  entries; the endpoint as an informational, non-blocking surface), so
+  no client contract is removed — `graduate/check` simply no longer
+  returns a `repo` field and never reports `blocking_prs` as a gate.
+
+## 0.30.2 — 2026-05-29
+
+**Patch — header nav label: the persistent chrome link reverts from
+"Philosophy" back to "About." Display text only — the route
+(`/philosophy`), the `header-about` class, and the page itself are
+unchanged. A plain frontend rebuild applies it; no schema, API, config,
+overlay, or secret change.**
+
+The §14.3 persistent link was relabeled "About" → "Philosophy" in
+v0.21.0. This restores "About" as the neutral, framework-native label
+(the CSS class `header-about` and the surrounding comment already call
+it "the About link"). A deployment that wants a more pointed framing
+can title its own About page in the `PHILOSOPHY.md` content the
+`PHILOSOPHY_PATH` override serves.
+
+Upgrade steps: none. **SHOULD** deploy as a normal code deploy.
+
+## 0.30.1 — 2026-05-29
+
+**Patch — bug fix: a merged idea-PR whose branch was deleted no longer
+lingers as a phantom "pending idea." No schema, API, config, overlay,
+or secret change — a plain code deploy applies it, and the running
+reconciler clears any existing ghost on the next sweep (≤5 min) once
+deployed. Shipped from driver session 0040.0.**
+
+`refresh_meta_pulls` (and `refresh_rfc_repo`) recover a PR's slug/kind
+by parsing its Gitea `head.ref`. When a PR is merged **and its branch
+deleted**, Gitea stops reporting the real branch name and returns the
+synthetic `refs/pull/<N>/head` sentinel instead. The slug then parsed
+to `None`, the reconcile loop skipped the row, and `cached_prs.state`
+stayed frozen at `open` forever — so the entry showed as **both** a
+super-draft (the `cached_rfcs` push-event reconcile succeeded) **and** a
+pending idea (the `cached_prs` PR-close reconcile never landed). The fix
+recovers the original branch name from the already-stored `cached_prs`
+row (which retains the real `head_branch` from when the PR was open;
+migration 002) whenever Gitea reports an empty or `refs/pull/` sentinel
+ref. Regression test added in `test_propose_vertical.py`
+(`test_merged_idea_pr_with_deleted_branch_clears_proposal`).
+
+Surfaced through the ROADMAP #35 operator authoring lane, which merges
+idea PRs from the CLI with branch-deletion enabled — a path the web UX
+never exercises (it leaves branches in place, so
+`default_delete_branch_after_merge` stays false). The framework should
+not depend on branches outliving their merge, hence the framework-level
+fix rather than a tooling workaround.
+
+Upgrade steps: none. **SHOULD** deploy as a normal code deploy; the
+periodic reconciler self-heals any existing phantom on its next sweep.
+
+## 0.30.0 — 2026-05-29
+
+**Minor — documentation: the user guide (`DOCS.md`, served at
+`/docs/user-guide` via `/api/docs`) brought back in sync with the
+shipped app. No code, schema, API, config, overlay, or secret change —
+a plain code deploy serves the updated guide. Shipped from driver
+session 0037.0.**
+
+The guide had drifted since it was first written: it still described
+the pre-OTC email *allowlist* sign-in, listed four propose-RFC fields,
+and predated several shipped surfaces. Updated to match v0.7.0–v0.29.0:
+
+- **Signing in** rewritten for the email + one-time-code flow (v0.7.0),
+  optional passcode (v0.10.0), trust-this-device for 30 days (v0.11.0),
+  optional Cloudflare Turnstile (v0.12.0), and the beta-access request →
+  `pending` → admin-`granted` gate (v0.8.0 / #6), plus the admin-create
+  + invite-claim path (v0.17.0 / #16). The vestigial allowlist is no
+  longer described as the gate.
+- **Proposing a new RFC** now lists five fields, adding the optional
+  "What will you be using this RFC for?" use-case field (#26) and noting
+  the AI tag-suggestion disclosure (#27).
+- **Roles & permissions** documents the `pending` state.
+- New **Invitations, cross-references, and contribution requests**
+  section covers owner invitations (#12) and the RFC auto-link /
+  create-RFC / ask-to-contribute affordances (#28).
+- New **Privacy and cookies** section covers the consent banner and
+  consent-gated analytics (#11 / #13).
+
+Upgrade steps: none — documentation-only; the change is the `DOCS.md`
+file served verbatim by `/api/docs`. A plain code deploy at this tag
+serves it. A deployment that overrides the guide via `DOCS_PATH`
+supplies its own copy and is unaffected.
+
+## 0.29.0 — 2026-05-28
+
+**Minor — roadmap #28 Parts 2 + 3: offer-to-create-an-RFC for strong-
+candidate terms, and offer-to-contribute-to-a-pending-RFC. One auto-
+applied migration (024, additive: a new `contribution_requests` table).
+No config/overlay/secret change; no nginx/systemd change. A plain code
+deploy + the auto-migration picks it up. Shipped from driver session
+0033.0.**
+
+Both parts extend the v0.26.0 (#28 Part 1) read-time scanner
+(`backend/app/rfc_links.py`) and its renderer
+(`frontend/src/components/LinkedText.jsx`). The scanner now sorts each
+matched term into one of three buckets — active link (Part 1, unchanged),
+pending-RFC contribute offer (Part 3), create-RFC offer (Part 2) — in one
+pass, with precedence active > pending > candidate at any position. The
+backend still emits only structured segments (never HTML), so the surface
+stays XSS-safe by construction.
+
+- **Part 2 — create-RFC offers.** A *strong-candidate* term — a
+  **multi-word tag** from the #27 tag taxonomy that has no defining RFC
+  (no active or super-draft RFC whose slug/title is that term) — renders,
+  for a viewer with create rights (`permission_state='granted'`), as an
+  inline "+ create RFC" affordance. Clicking opens the propose-RFC modal
+  with the term pre-filled as the title (`ProposeModal` gained an
+  `initialTitle`; the affordance routes via `?propose=<term>`, read in
+  `App.jsx`). The heuristic is deliberately conservative — multi-word is
+  the same false-positive guard the title rule uses, so a single common
+  tag word (`identity`) is never offered. Broader candidate detection
+  (capitalized phrases mined from text, terms repeated across recent PRs,
+  or the #27 Haiku `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` pathway) is a sanctioned but
+  deferred extension.
+- **Part 3 — contribute-to-pending offers.** A term matching a *pending*
+  RFC — a super-draft (`state='super-draft'`: accepted as an idea, owned,
+  with a contribution surface, not yet graduated) — renders, for a
+  signed-in non-owner, as an inline "ask to contribute" affordance
+  carrying the owner's display name ("<owner> is working on an RFC for
+  '<term>'"). It opens a contribute-request form (`?contribute=<slug>`)
+  with three fields — **who I am** (required), **why I'm asking**
+  (required), **what I'd use it for** (optional, mirroring #26). Submitting
+  lands a `contribution_requests` row and one actionable §15 inbox
+  notification per owner (new kind `contribution_request_on_pending_rfc`,
+  category `personal-direct` — so it reuses the existing
+  `email_personal_direct` preference, no new toggle). In the inbox the
+  owner sees the requester's who/why/use-case inline with **Accept** /
+  **Decline**. Accept fires #12's owner-invite flow with the requester as
+  the invitee (a `contributor` `rfc_invitations` row + the existing invite
+  email) and echoes a notification back to the requester; Decline closes
+  the request and notifies the requester. Pre-merge idea PRs (not yet in
+  `cached_rfcs`, no contribution surface) are deliberately out of scope —
+  a documented future extension.
+
+New endpoints (all under the existing `/api` router):
+`GET /api/rfcs/{slug}/contribution-target`,
+`POST /api/rfcs/{slug}/contribution-requests`,
+`POST /api/rfcs/{slug}/contribution-requests/{id}/accept`,
+`POST /api/rfcs/{slug}/contribution-requests/{id}/decline`.
+
+The owner-invite issue path was refactored into one reusable chokepoint,
+`api_invitations.issue_invitation(...)`, shared by the manual invite
+endpoint and Part 3's accept path so the dup-guard, token mint, insert,
+and transactional email stay identical.
+
+Upgrade steps:
+
+1. Deployments **MUST** apply the auto-run migration `024` (additive: the
+   new `contribution_requests` table; no existing table or row is
+   touched). The standard deploy path runs pending migrations on start —
+   no manual step beyond deploying the new code.
+2. No config, overlay, or secret change is required. The Part 2 candidate
+   affordance reuses #27's tag taxonomy; it surfaces only when the corpus
+   carries multi-word tags without a defining RFC, and the create
+   affordance renders only for beta-granted viewers. Part 3's email reuse
+   sends through the existing invitation SMTP path — no new key.
+
+## 0.28.0 — 2026-05-28
+
+**Minor — security-hardening follow-up (Session-0026 audit, informational
+findings I3 + I4). No operator action required: no migration, no schema
+change, no config/overlay change, no API/behavior change for any caller.
+A plain code deploy picks it up. Shipped from driver session 0032.0.**
+
+Two informational findings from the Session-0026 audit, both
+framework-internal defense-in-depth:
+
+- **I3 — dead HTML-email branch guarded.** `email_envelope.build_envelope`
+  accepted a `body_html=` argument that built a `multipart/alternative`
+  body, but no send path ever passed it — every rfc-app mail is plain
+  text. An unused branch that would emit HTML built from (potentially
+  unescaped) user content is the C1 stored-XSS class waiting in the mail
+  channel. The branch is now a loud guard: passing `body_html` raises
+  `NotImplementedError`. The argument is kept in the signature for
+  documented future symmetry; enabling HTML mail becomes a deliberate
+  change that MUST HTML-escape user content at the call site and remove
+  the guard in the same commit.
+- **I4 — Turnstile siteverify no longer blocks the event loop.**
+  `turnstile.verify_token` was a synchronous function issuing a blocking
+  `httpx.post` from inside the async `/auth/otc/request` handler, so a
+  slow CloudFlare response stalled the single worker for up to the 10s
+  timeout. It is now `async` and awaits the call on an
+  `httpx.AsyncClient` (matching the codebase's existing async-httpx
+  pattern), isolated behind a narrow `_siteverify_post` seam. The sole
+  caller (`main.py`) now `await`s it.
+
+Upgrade steps: **none.** Both changes are internal. The `verify_token`
+signature changed from sync to `async` (callers must `await`), but the
+only caller is in-tree (`main.py`) and is updated in this release; no
+deployment-facing surface, config key, or migration is affected.
+
 ## 0.27.0 — 2026-05-28
 
 **Minor — security-hardening release (Session-0026 audit remediation).

DOCS.md

@@ -39,23 +39,44 @@ thread. Every write affordance is replaced with a sign-in prompt.
 
 ## Signing in
 
-While the framework is in private beta, only invited email addresses
+Anyone can start the sign-in flow with their own email address — there
-can complete sign-in. If your email is on the allowlist, the
+is no invite-only allowlist. Sign-in is passwordless:
-"Sign in" button in the header completes the flow and lands you on
-the catalog with full read and write access. If your email is not on
-the allowlist, you'll be sent to a short "pending" page explaining
-the gate.
 
-Once you have an account, you're a **contributor** by default — the
+1. **Enter your email.** If the deployment has human verification
-role that grants every write affordance the app exposes, scoped by
+   enabled (a Cloudflare Turnstile challenge), you complete it here.
-the per-RFC and per-branch rules described below.
+2. **Enter the one-time code.** The app emails you a short numeric
+   code; entering it signs you in. Codes expire after a few minutes,
+   and repeated wrong entries briefly lock the email.
+3. **Set a passcode (optional).** After your first code sign-in you
+   can set a passcode. On later visits you sign in with email +
+   passcode, with the one-time code as the forgot-passcode fallback.
+4. **Trust this device (optional).** You can mark a device trusted for
+   30 days to skip the code/passcode step on it. Trusted devices are
+   listed in your settings and can be revoked individually or all at
+   once.
+
+### Getting write access
+
+Signing in gives you an account, but write access is gated. The first
+time you sign in you're asked for your first name, last name, and a
+short note on why you'd like access; you then land on a "request in
+review" page. While your account is **pending**, you can read
+everything an anonymous visitor can but cannot write — no chat,
+propose, branch, PR, or discussion post. Once an admin **grants** your
+account you become a **contributor**, the role that carries every
+write affordance the app exposes, scoped by the per-RFC and per-branch
+rules described below.
+
+An admin can also create your account ahead of time and email you an
+invite link. Clicking it claims the account and signs you in with the
+role the admin assigned, skipping the one-time-code step.
 
 ---
 
 ## Proposing a new RFC
 
 A new RFC begins as a proposal. The "+ Propose new RFC" button at
-the bottom of the catalog opens a small modal that collects four
+the bottom of the catalog opens a small modal that collects five
 things:
 
 - **Title.** The word, concept, or topic this RFC would define.
@@ -65,8 +86,13 @@ things:
   inline.
 - **Pitch.** One or two paragraphs answering *why this RFC is
   needed*. This becomes the body of the entry.
-- **Tags.** Optional. The AI suggests tags from the pitch; you can
+- **Use case.** Optional. *What will you be using this RFC for?* —
-  accept, dismiss, or type your own.
+  the concrete application driving the proposal, as distinct from the
+  abstract case for it. Leaving it blank is fine.
+- **Tags.** Optional. If the deployment has AI tag suggestion
+  enabled, suggested tags appear as you fill the form (with an inline
+  note that the text you've entered is sent to the model that
+  generates them); you can accept, dismiss, or type your own.
 
 Submitting the modal does one concrete thing: it opens a pull
 request against the framework's meta repository, adding one new
@@ -167,6 +193,51 @@ either requires a contributor account.
 
 ---
 
+## Invitations, cross-references, and contribution requests
+
+Three connected surfaces help the right people find and join the
+right RFC.
+
+### Owner invitations
+
+An RFC's owner (or an app-wide admin or owner) can invite a specific
+person to that RFC from the "Invitations" control in the RFC header.
+The invite names an email and a role for *this RFC*:
+
+- **contributor** — can open PRs and join the discussion;
+- **discussant** — can join the discussion only.
+
+The invitee gets an email with an accept link; accepting adds them as
+a collaborator on that RFC. The invitations panel lists every invite
+with its status (pending / accepted / expired / revoked); pending
+invites can be revoked. An invitation is per-RFC — it does not change
+the invitee's app-wide role, and it cannot lift the pending gate: the
+invitee still needs a granted account to write.
+
+### RFC cross-links in PRs and comments
+
+When a PR description or a comment mentions an existing active RFC —
+by its ID, its multi-word title, or its slug — the framework renders
+that mention as a link to the RFC. The matching is conservative by
+design (single common words are never auto-linked), and the links are
+computed at read time, so nothing is rewritten in what you typed.
+
+### "Create" and "ask to contribute" offers
+
+The same scan surfaces two affordances inline:
+
+- If a term looks like it should have an RFC but none exists yet, a
+  reader who has create rights sees a **"create RFC for '<term>'"**
+  link that opens the propose modal with the title pre-filled.
+- If a term matches a *pending* RFC (a super-draft someone already
+  owns), a signed-in reader sees an **"ask to contribute"** offer
+  naming the owner. It opens a short request form — who you are, why
+  you're asking, and optionally what you'd use the RFC for. The
+  request lands in the owner's inbox; the owner can **accept** (which
+  sends you an owner invitation) or **decline** (which notifies you).
+
+---
+
 ## Working on a branch
 
 Contribute mode flips one branch into edit-enabled. The centre
@@ -505,6 +576,14 @@ Each role is a strict superset of the one below it.
    entirely. The framework names a single "owner zero" at
    bootstrap.
 
+Between anonymous and contributor sits one transient state:
+**pending**. A freshly signed-in account that hasn't been granted
+access yet (see [Signing in](#signing-in)) reads everything an
+anonymous visitor can, but no write affordance unlocks until an admin
+grants it. Granting promotes the account to contributor; an admin can
+also revoke a granted account back to a no-write state. These
+transitions are recorded in the `permission_events` log.
+
 The practical difference between admin and owner is narrow but
 load-bearing: admin is the operational tier — it does the day-to-
 day moderation and stewardship work; owner is the tier that
@@ -594,6 +673,20 @@ review.
 
 ---
 
+## Privacy and cookies
+
+A consent banner appears on your first visit and lets you choose
+which cookie categories to allow — essential always, with analytics
+and other categories opt-in. The choice is remembered and can be
+changed any time from the privacy/cookies controls in settings.
+
+Analytics only load if you opt in: the framework defers the analytics
+SDK behind your consent, so declining means it is never initialized.
+The `/privacy` and `/cookies` pages describe what's collected and
+why; a deployment can point those pages at its own fuller policy.
+
+---
+
 ## Where to learn more
 
 - The framework's *why* lives in [the philosophy

SPEC.md

@@ -30,13 +30,44 @@ providers (Anthropic, Google, OpenAI / GitHub Copilot).
 
 ## 1. Repository topology
 
-Each RFC is its own Gitea repository. There is in addition exactly one **meta
+There is exactly one **meta repository** that holds every RFC in the
-repository** that serves as the authoritative directory of all RFCs in the
+system as a single markdown entry under `rfcs/` — drafts, active work,
-system — drafts, active work, and retired entries alike.
+and retired entries alike — regardless of state. An RFC is a single
+canonical document, and its document *is* its meta entry: the body
+lives in the entry file at every state, from idea through active. There
+are **no per-RFC repositories**.
 
-All Git operations across all repositories are performed by a single **bot
+For a deployment, this single repository is its **content repository**:
+the one place every RFC document lives (under `rfcs/`), alongside the
+framework's `PHILOSOPHY.md`, `README.md`, and `CONTRIBUTING.md` (§2). A
+deployment names it concretely — `<deployment>-content` reads cleanly
+— and the `META_REPO` setting carries the name. The term *meta
+repository* persists for the config surface and
+historical continuity, but under the meta-only topology this repo is,
+functionally, the deployment's content repo: "one repo, your RFCs are
+in `rfcs/`" is the whole mental model a new deployer needs.
+
+> **Topology change (v0.31.0, meta-only — supersedes the original
+> per-RFC-repo model).** This spec originally said "each RFC is its own
+> Gitea repository," and graduation created a dedicated `rfc-NNNN-<slug>`
+> repo and moved the body into its `RFC.md`. That model is **retired**.
+> The per-RFC-repo machinery never paid for itself under this design:
+> authorization is decided in app data before a single bot acts (below),
+> not by per-repo Gitea permissions; raw `git clone`+`push` was never a
+> supported contribution path; and the super-draft phase already ran
+> meta-only. So an RFC now lives in its meta entry for its whole life,
+> and graduation is an in-place state flip rather than a repo-creation
+> transaction (see §13). Where later sections still say "the RFC's repo"
+> or "RFC.md on the new repo," read it as "the RFC's meta entry body" —
+> the editing, branch, PR, and chat machinery is unchanged; only the
+> location collapses onto the meta repo. The one RFC graduated under the
+> old model, **RFC-0001 `human`**, was folded back into its meta entry
+> and its `wiggleverse/rfc-0001-human` repo archived (see §13.6). The
+> decision record is OHM ROADMAP #36.
+
+All Git operations on the meta repository are performed by a single **bot
 service account** in Gitea. Real human users do not have meaningful Gitea
-permissions on the repos themselves; their accounts exist for OAuth identity
+permissions on the repo itself; their accounts exist for OAuth identity
 only. The bot is the author of every commit, the opener of every PR, and the
 merger of every merge. Authorization decisions are made by the app, in app
 data, *before* the bot acts on the user's behalf.
@@ -67,8 +98,8 @@ The meta repo's `main` branch contains:
   arriving at the meta-repo via Git rather than via the app. The **index
   below the header is regenerated by CI on every merge to main** and lists
   active RFCs, super-drafts, and (eventually) retired entries with links
-  into the corresponding entry files and, when present, the RFC's own
+  into the corresponding entry files. (There is no per-RFC repository to
-  repository.
+  link to under the meta-only topology, §1.)
 - `CONTRIBUTING.md` — explains how to propose, claim, and contribute.
 - A workflow file (Gitea Actions) that regenerates the README index.
 
@@ -84,7 +115,9 @@ slug: human
 title: Human
 state: super-draft        # super-draft | active | withdrawn
 id: null                  # null until graduated; then "RFC-0042"
-repo: null                # null until graduated; then "wiggleverse/rfc-0042-human"
+repo: null                # always null under the meta-only topology (§1).
+                          # Retained for schema stability + historical
+                          # entries; never populated by graduation (§13).
 proposed_by: ben@wiggleverse.org
 proposed_at: 2026-05-22
 graduated_at: null
@@ -103,8 +136,9 @@ tags: [identity, schema]
 ## Why this RFC is needed
 
 (One- or two-paragraph pitch from the proposer. While the entry is a
-super-draft, the body may grow into the actual draft document. On
+super-draft, the body grows into the actual draft document. The body
-graduation, this body migrates to RFC.md in the new repo; see §13.)
+stays in this entry at every state — graduation is an in-place state
+flip and does not move it (§13).)
 ```
 
 ### 2.2 Idea submission as PR
@@ -129,11 +163,14 @@ an idea costs nothing in identifier space.
 There are three canonical states stored in entry frontmatter:
 
 - **`super-draft`** — the entry exists in the meta repo's `rfcs/`
-  directory. No dedicated repo yet. Anyone signed in can chat on it; anyone
+  directory. Anyone signed in can chat on it; anyone can claim ownership;
-  can claim ownership; an owner is required before graduation.
+  an owner is required before graduation.
-- **`active`** — the entry has been graduated. A dedicated RFC repo
+- **`active`** — the entry has been graduated: it carries an integer
-  exists, `repo:` points to it, and real branches/PRs/conversation happen
+  `id` (`RFC-NNNN`) and `graduated_at`/`graduated_by`. It lives in the
-  there.
+  same `rfcs/<slug>.md` entry it always did — graduation is an in-place
+  state flip (§13), not a move. Branches, PRs, and conversation happen on
+  the meta repo against that entry, exactly as they did while it was a
+  super-draft. `repo:` stays null (§1).
 - **`withdrawn`** — pulled before becoming canonical. Stays in the
   directory as historical record, hidden from default views, filterable in.
 
@@ -163,20 +200,23 @@ for "who clicked the button" (see §6.5).
 
 ### 3.2 State change side-effects
 
-For now, changing state in the meta repo entry is the *only* required
+Changing state in the meta repo entry is the *only* required operation
-operation for a state transition. Graduation has additional side effects
+for a state transition — graduation included. Graduation additionally
-(creating the new repo, seeding it); those are covered in §13. We
+assigns the integer `id` and stamps `graduated_at`/`graduated_by` in the
-deliberately do not tag commits, lock branches, or post notices on
+same commit (§13); it has no other side effects under the meta-only
-state change for now — the entry frontmatter is the single source of
+topology (no repo to create, nothing to seed). We deliberately do not
-truth and any further automation is a later refinement.
+tag commits, lock branches, or post notices on state change for now —
+the entry frontmatter is the single source of truth and any further
+automation is a later refinement.
 
 ---
 
 ## 4. Storage architecture: Git is truth, app keeps a cache
 
 Gitea remains the source of truth for everything Git-shaped: meta repo
-content, RFC repo content, branches, PRs, commits. Nothing in this system
+content, branches, PRs, commits — all of which live on the single meta
-overrides Gitea on those concerns.
+repo under the meta-only topology (§1). Nothing in this system overrides
+Gitea on those concerns.
 
 The app maintains a **SQLite database**, colocated with the FastAPI
 process, that serves three purposes:
@@ -187,10 +227,11 @@ process, that serves three purposes:
    assignments, per-branch grants, branch visibility settings, chat
    history, audit logs. This data is canonical; it is not cached, it
    is owned by the app.
-3. **Cached bodies** — the main-branch body of each RFC's `RFC.md` (and
+3. **Cached bodies** — the main-branch body of each RFC, read from its
-   each super-draft's entry body) is cached for left-pane previews and
+   `rfcs/<slug>.md` meta entry (the same source for super-drafts and
-   read-without-roundtrip. Branch bodies are *not* cached; the editor
+   active RFCs alike under the meta-only topology), is cached for
-   fetches them live from Gitea when opened.
+   left-pane previews and read-without-roundtrip. Branch bodies are
+   *not* cached; the editor fetches them live from Gitea when opened.
 
 ### 4.1 Cache freshness
 
@@ -201,7 +242,7 @@ Two paths keep the cache current, running in parallel:
   A webhook handler does a focused re-read of just what changed.
   Typical latency: sub-second.
 - **A periodic reconciler** runs every five minutes and does a full
-  sweep — list meta-repo entries, list each RFC repo's branches and
+  sweep — list meta-repo entries, list the meta repo's branches and
   PRs, diff against the cache, fix drift. This is the safety net for
   missed webhooks and downtime.
 
@@ -1607,42 +1648,43 @@ contributor — identical to an active RFC's main chat per §11.4 plus
 
 ### 9.8 Graduation handoff additions
 
-§13's graduation sequence was written before this section's
+> **Meta-only update (v0.31.0).** This section originally reconciled
-machinery existed. The mechanics §13 needs to absorb fold inline
+> §13's per-RFC-repo graduation transaction with the §9-era editing
-into §13.2 and §13.4 in their respective sections; the substantive
+> machinery. Under the meta-only topology (§1, §13) the entry never
-additions are captured here for cross-reference:
+> moves and its body is never stripped, so the frictions this section
+> existed to manage **dissolve**. The bullets are retained, struck
+> through, for the audit trail of what the per-repo model required.
 
-- **Open body-edit PRs block graduation.** §13.3's step 3 removes
+Under meta-only, graduation is a single frontmatter-flipping commit
+to `rfcs/<slug>.md` (§13.3). Nothing else changes: the body stays in
+the entry; branches, edit-PRs, threads, flags, and `changes` rows all
+remain exactly where they were, keyed by the slug per §2.3, and keep
+working against the same meta entry after the flip as before it. There
+is no entry move, no body strip, no per-repo seed, and therefore no
+"handoff" to coordinate.
+
+- ~~**Open body-edit PRs block graduation.** §13.3's step 3 removes
   the meta-repo entry's body field, and an open body-edit PR
   post-graduation would attempt to re-introduce a body to a
-  frontmatter-only entry. The Graduate dialog disables the confirm
+  frontmatter-only entry.~~ **No longer applies** — the body is kept,
-  button if any meta-repo PR is open against `rfcs/<slug>.md`. The
+  so an open body-edit PR coexists with graduation. Graduation touches
-  precondition is enforced before the bot starts §13.3's sequence,
+  only the frontmatter; a body-edit PR that merges after graduation
-  so §13.3's rollback complexity does not grow.
+  edits the same entry's body just as it would have before. The
-- **Bare edit branches survive graduation.** Edit branches without
+  Graduate dialog no longer gates on open body-edit PRs (§13.2).
-  an open PR are not blocked. They remain on the meta repo subject
+- ~~**Bare edit branches survive graduation.**~~ Trivially true now —
-  to §12's hygiene timers. The contributor can re-cut against the
+  no repo boundary is crossed, so every edit branch simply remains a
-  new RFC repo's main if they still want the work. The branch chat
+  meta-repo branch on the same slug, subject to §12's hygiene timers,
-  persists per §8.4 as historical record even after auto-close, so
+  with no "re-cut against the new repo" step.
-  the argument that produced the work is preserved regardless of
+- ~~**Chat migration includes range and paragraph sub-threads.**~~ No
-  whether the work itself merges.
+  migration occurs: whole-doc, range, and paragraph threads stay on
-- **Chat migration includes range and paragraph sub-threads.**
+  their `(rfc_slug, branch_name)` rows. Their anchors resolve against
-  §13.4's chat-follows-the-work rule covers the whole-doc main
+  the same entry body, which did not move, so §8.12's stale mechanic is
-  thread; it extends to range and paragraph sub-threads on the
+  not provoked by graduation.
-  super-draft's main view, which migrate as part of the same
+- ~~**Pre-graduation history surfaces from the new RFC view.**~~ There
-  movement. Anchors re-resolve against `RFC.md` on the new repo;
+  is no "new RFC view" distinct from the entry's own view, so there is
-  since §13.3's step 2 seeds `RFC.md` from the super-draft body
+  no pre-graduation hop to bridge. Edit-branch threads, flags, and
-  verbatim, anchors typically locate the same content. Where they
+  `changes` rows surface on the active RFC the same way they did on the
-  do not, §8.12's stale mechanic engages.
+  super-draft — same slug, same surface.
-- **Pre-graduation history surfaces from the new RFC view.**
-  Meta-repo edit-branch chats, flag threads, and `changes` rows
-  stay attached to their original `branch_name` on the meta repo;
-  they do not migrate. A **"Pre-graduation history"** affordance on
-  the new RFC view surfaces these — the slug remains the canonical
-  key per §2.3, so the query is a straightforward lookup of
-  `threads` and `changes` rows where `rfc_slug = <slug>` and
-  `branch_name` begins with `edit/<slug>/`. UI affordance; no data
-  movement, no rollback cost.
 
 ---
 
@@ -1953,16 +1995,23 @@ email request to an owner.
 
 ---
 
-## 13. The graduation flow (super-draft → active RFC repo)
+## 13. The graduation flow (super-draft → active, in place)
 
-Graduation is initiated by an owner or admin clicking "Graduate to RFC
+Graduation is initiated by an owner or admin clicking "Graduate" on a
-repo" on a super-draft's page. The button is disabled with a tooltip
+super-draft's page. The button is disabled with a tooltip when the
-when the super-draft has no owners (see §13.1) or when any meta-repo
+super-draft has no owners (see §13.1). Open meta-repo body-edit PRs no
-body-edit PR is open against `rfcs/<slug>.md` (see §9.8 — open
+longer block graduation: under the meta-only topology (§1) the body is
-body-edit PRs would attempt to re-introduce a body to a frontmatter-
+kept in the entry, so graduation touches only frontmatter and coexists
-only entry after step 3 of §13.3). Bare edit branches without an open
+with body edits (see §9.8). Bare edit branches are likewise unaffected;
-PR do not block graduation; they remain on the meta repo subject to
+they remain on the meta repo subject to §12's hygiene timers.
-§12's hygiene timers.
+
+> **Meta-only rewrite (v0.31.0).** §13 originally described a
+> transactional create-repo-seed-flip sequence (`super-draft → active
+> RFC repo`) with rollback. That is **retired** (§1). Graduation is now
+> a single in-place state flip on the entry: no repo is created, the
+> body is not moved or stripped, and there is nothing to roll back. The
+> subsections below are rewritten to the new model; §13.3 records what
+> the old transaction did, struck through, for the audit trail.
 
 ### 13.1 Claim ownership (prerequisite)
 
@@ -1983,137 +2032,117 @@ broadening rather than a precondition for the proposer's own RFC.)
 
 ### 13.2 The Graduate dialog
 
-Clicking "Graduate to RFC repo" opens a small dialog with three
+Clicking "Graduate" opens a small dialog with two editable fields:
-editable fields:
 
 - **Integer ID** — pre-filled as `max(existing integer IDs) + 1`,
   formatted as `RFC-NNNN`. Editable to allow gap reservations but the
   default is just the next number.
-- **Repo name** — pre-filled as `rfc-NNNN-<slug>`, editable but
-  constrained to valid Gitea repo names.
 - **Initial owners** — pre-filled from the entry's `owners:`, with an
   "add owner" picker. Must have at least one.
 
+(The old **Repo name** field is gone — there is no repo to name under
+the meta-only topology.)
+
 Each field validates inline as the admin types, with a short
 debounce, against the catalog cache and a regex — integer-ID
-collision against existing IDs, repo-name pattern against valid
+collision against existing IDs, the at-least-one-owner constraint on
-Gitea name rules, the at-least-one-owner constraint on the picker.
+the picker. Errors render as a short line of text beneath the
-Errors render as a short line of text beneath the offending field.
+offending field. The integer-ID collision check is re-issued
-The repo-name collision check is re-issued atomically server-side
+atomically server-side on confirm, since a concurrent graduation
-on confirm, since a concurrent graduation could land between
+could land between dialog-open and submit. While any field is
-dialog-open and submit. While any field is invalid, the confirm
+invalid, the confirm button is disabled and its tooltip names the
-button is disabled and its tooltip names the first blocker
+first blocker specifically — "Integer ID 42 is already taken," "Add
-specifically — "Integer ID 42 is already taken," "Repo name must be
+at least one initial owner" — the same grammar the precondition
-lowercase letters, digits, and dashes," "Add at least one initial
+popover below uses, so the dialog and the gate read as one surface
-owner" — the same grammar the precondition popover below uses, so
+rather than two competing styles.
-the dialog and the gate read as one surface rather than two
-competing styles.
 
-The dialog's confirm button is also disabled when the preconditions
+The dialog's confirm button is also disabled when the entry has no
-from §13's opening paragraph fail — no owners on the entry, or any
+owners. The disabled button opens a small popover on hover or click
-open meta-repo PR against `rfcs/<slug>.md`. The disabled button
+listing the failing precondition with an inline remediation
-opens a small popover on hover or click that lists each failing
+affordance: "No owners claimed yet" surfaces a "Copy share link"
-precondition as its own line item with an inline remediation
+affordance for surfacing the super-draft to a would-be claimer, plus
-affordance per item. "No owners claimed yet" surfaces a "Copy share
+a secondary "Claim ownership yourself" — admins are contributors per
-link" affordance for surfacing the super-draft to a would-be
+§6.1, so they can claim if they intend to graduate solo. Open
-claimer, plus a secondary "Claim ownership yourself" — admins are
+body-edit PRs are **not** a precondition anymore (§9.8): the body is
-contributors per §6.1, so they can claim if they intend to graduate
+kept, so they coexist with graduation.
-solo. "N open body-edit PRs" expands inline within the popover to a
-list of the offending PRs, one per row, carrying each PR's title,
-author, and last-activity timestamp plus inline merge, withdraw,
-and open-in-new-tab affordances; admins hold §6.3 authority on
-those PRs and can resolve the precondition from the popover without
-leaving the Graduate context.
 
-The preconditions are enforced before the bot starts §13.3's
+### 13.3 The flip
-sequence, so §13.3's rollback complexity is unchanged.
 
-### 13.3 The transactional sequence
+Confirming the dialog runs a single operation as the bot: open a PR
+against the meta repo that re-serializes `rfcs/<slug>.md` with
+`state: active`, `id: RFC-NNNN`, `graduated_at: <timestamp>`,
+`graduated_by: <admin username>`, and the `owners:` from the dialog —
+**leaving the body unchanged** — then auto-merge it (the admin who
+clicked is the merge actor). The webhook flow updates the SQLite cache
+and the catalog row transitions per §7.2.
 
-Confirming the dialog runs this sequence as the bot:
+```
+super-draft entry  ──[graduate]──▶  same entry, state: active, id assigned
+(body unchanged, repo: null, lives in rfcs/<slug>.md throughout)
+```
 
-1. Create the new Gitea repo.
+There is no repo to create, nothing to seed, and the body is neither
-2. Seed it with an initial commit on `main` containing:
+moved nor stripped, so there is **no multi-step transaction and no
-   - `README.md` (header pointing at the meta-repo entry, plus the
+rollback**. If opening or merging the flip PR fails, the entry simply
-     super-draft's pitch body migrated over).
+stays a super-draft and the admin sees the error — nothing partial was
-   - `RFC.md` (the actual document, starting from the super-draft body
+created that needs cleaning up. The dialog reports a single in-flight
-     or a template if the body is empty).
+"Graduating…" state that resolves to success (the PR merged) or a
-   - `.rfc/metadata.yaml` — mirror of the meta-repo frontmatter for
+plain error (the PR could not be opened or merged), rather than the
-     future tooling.
+old five-step stack. On success, a brief "Graduation complete" frame
-3. Open a PR against the meta repo updating the entry: `state: active`,
+holds for a moment before the dialog closes.
-   `id: RFC-NNNN`, `repo: <new repo URL>`, `graduated_at: <timestamp>`,
-   `graduated_by: <admin username>`. The meta-repo entry's body field
-   is removed (frontmatter only, plus a generated "see the full RFC at
-   <repo>" link).
-4. Auto-merge the PR (the same admin who clicked the button is the
-   merge actor).
-5. Webhook flow updates the SQLite cache; left pane reflects the new
-   state immediately.
 
-The dialog renders the sequence in flight as a stack of the five
+> ~~**The old transactional sequence (per-RFC-repo model, retired).**
-named steps with per-step states — `pending`, `running`, `done`,
+> Confirming created a new Gitea repo; seeded it with `README.md`,
-`failed`, `not reached` — and a one-line caption beneath the current
+> `RFC.md` (body migrated), and `.rfc/metadata.yaml`; opened a meta-repo
-step naming the concrete operation ("Creating repository
+> PR flipping `state`/`id`/`repo`/`graduated_*` **and stripping the
-wiggleverse/rfc-0042-human…"). The stack streams from
+> entry body** to frontmatter-only with a "see the full RFC at <repo>"
-the server via the SSE surface in §17, one event per step
+> link; auto-merged it; refreshed the cache. A five-step SSE stack
-transition. On success, a brief "Graduation complete" frame holds
+> rendered progress, and any mid-sequence failure rolled back (delete
-for a moment before the dialog closes and the catalog row
+> the half-created repo, abandon the PR). All of that machinery is
-transitions per §7.2.
+> removed — the body strip was the only reason most of it existed.~~
 
-If any step fails partway, the app rolls back: deletes the
+### 13.4 Chat, branches, and history stay put
-half-created repo, abandons the unmerged PR, surfaces a clear error
-to the admin. The rollback is itself a visible step appended to the
-stack on failure — the admin sees that cleanup ran, not just that
-the act failed. The failed step turns red, later original-sequence
-steps mark "not reached," and a "What happened" panel renders below
-the stack explaining what was rolled back, what wasn't (if anything
-is unrecoverable), and what to do next. The panel persists until the
-admin dismisses it — a failure surface is not auto-dismissed.
-Graduation is rare enough to afford this level of care.
 
-### 13.4 Chat history follows the work
+Nothing moves at graduation. The whole-doc main thread (§8.4), range
+and paragraph sub-threads (§8.12), edit-branch chats, flag threads,
+and `changes` rows all remain on their existing `(rfc_slug,
+branch_name)` rows — the slug is the canonical key per §2.3 and does
+not change. Their anchors resolve against the same entry body, which
+did not move, so §8.12's stale mechanic is not provoked by graduation.
 
-The chat thread attached to the super-draft moves to the new repo's
+Because there is no repo boundary to cross, there is no
-main-branch chat at graduation. This covers both the whole-doc main
+"pre-graduation history" hop: the active RFC's view is the same view
-thread per §8.4 and any range or paragraph sub-threads per §8.12
+the super-draft had, listing the same `main`, open branches, and open
-anchored to the super-draft's main view; anchors re-resolve against
+PRs in the §8.1 breadcrumb dropdown. Edit branches that closed during
-`RFC.md` on the new repo and, where they fail, §8.12's stale
+the super-draft phase surface through the ordinary "Show closed
-mechanic engages. The meta-repo entry retains a generated link
+branches" filter — there is no separate "lived on the meta repo before
-"Conversation continues at <repo URL>." The chat is about the RFC,
+the repo existed" set to distinguish, because the repo never existed.
-not the meta-repo entry, and it should travel with the work.
 
-Meta-repo edit-branch chats, flag threads, and `changes` rows from
+### 13.5 Reversing graduation
-the super-draft phase **do not migrate**. They stay attached to
-their original `branch_name` on the meta repo and surface from the
-new RFC view via a **"Pre-graduation history"** affordance — a
-straightforward lookup of `threads` and `changes` rows where
-`rfc_slug = <slug>` and `branch_name` begins with `edit/<slug>/`
-(the slug remains the canonical key per §2.3, before and after
-graduation). UI affordance; no data movement, no rollback cost.
 
-The affordance renders as a section in the §8.1 breadcrumb dropdown
+The canonical forward path from `active` is still `withdrawn` (§3.1),
-on the new RFC view, alongside `main`, open branches, and open PRs,
+and `withdrawn → super-draft` reopens an entry. Under the meta-only
-headed "Pre-graduation history (N)" with each pre-graduation edit
+topology, reversing a graduation is no longer operationally messy —
-branch listed as its own row. Selecting a row swaps the center
+there are no repo commits to orphan, only a frontmatter flip — but the
-column to a read-only render of that branch's body at its last
+state graph in §3.1 remains the authority: `active → withdrawn →
-commit and the right column to that branch's chat, with associated
+super-draft` is the supported route, and the integer `id`, once
-change-cards and flags inline — the same machinery a closed branch
+assigned, is not reclaimed (gap-free allocation per §2.3 tolerates
-on an active RFC uses per §10.7 and §11.5. Anchors on pre-graduation
+gaps from withdrawals). A direct `active → super-draft` un-graduate is
-threads resolve against the pre-graduation body, not against
+not exposed in v1; withdraw-and-reopen covers the need.
-`RFC.md` on the new repo. The pre-graduation set is kept distinct
-from the post-graduation "Show closed branches" filter in the same
-dropdown — "branches that closed normally on this repo" and
-"branches that lived on the meta repo before this repo existed" are
-semantically different sets, and conflating them would obscure the
-graduation hop.
 
-### 13.5 Graduation is not reversible
+### 13.6 RFC-0001 fold-back (migration record)
 
-Once an entry is graduated to `active`, the path forward is
+RFC-0001 `human` was graduated under the original per-RFC-repo model
-`withdrawn`, not back to `super-draft`. Reversing graduation cleanly
+(2026-05-26) into `wiggleverse/rfc-0001-human`, with its body in that
-is operationally messy (existing commits in the new repo, etc.) and
+repo's `RFC.md` and its meta entry stripped to frontmatter. When the
-the cost of not having it is low — withdraw and re-graduate as a
+meta-only topology landed (v0.31.0, OHM ROADMAP #36, driver session
-fresh idea if needed.
+0041.0), RFC-0001 was folded back to the single model: the full
+`RFC.md` body was restored into `rfcs/human.md` in the meta repo
+(`repo:` set null, `state: active` and `id: RFC-0001` retained), and
+`wiggleverse/rfc-0001-human` was archived with a `README` pointing at
+the canonical home in the app. RFC-0001 is therefore an ordinary
+meta-only active RFC like any other; no grandfathered per-repo path
+remains in the code.
 
 ---
 

VERSION

@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.27.0
+0.31.2

backend/app/api.py

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
 from . import (
     api_admin,
     api_branches,
+    api_contributions,
     api_discussion,
     api_graduation,
     api_invitations,
@@ -141,6 +142,10 @@ def make_router(
     # invited users keep read access but cannot write (v0.6.0
     # contract extended to per-RFC scope).
     router.include_router(api_invitations.make_router())
+    # v0.29.0 (roadmap item #28 Part 3): offer-to-contribute-to-a-pending
+    # (super-draft) RFC. Reuses the #12 invite flow (api_invitations above)
+    # on accept; lands the request + owner notifications via §15 notify.
+    router.include_router(api_contributions.make_router())
 
     # ---------------------------------------------------------------
     # §17: /api/health — unauthenticated post-flight probe.

backend/app/api_branches.py

@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ def make_router(
         # `refresh_meta_branches` writes is internal scaffolding for the
         # §10.1 has-commits-ahead check — the §9.4 dropdown's first
         # position is rendered separately as 'canonical body'.
-        if _is_super_draft(rfc):
+        if _is_meta_resident(rfc):
             branch_rows = db.conn().execute(
                 """
                 SELECT branch_name, head_sha, state, last_commit_at, pinned
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ def make_router(
         # per-RFC repo. For super-draft: meta_body_edit and meta_metadata
         # PRs on the meta repo. Same shape either way — the §9.4 dropdown
         # treats both as "open work against this entry."
-        pr_kinds = ("meta_body_edit", "meta_metadata") if _is_super_draft(rfc) else ("rfc_branch",)
+        pr_kinds = ("meta_body_edit", "meta_metadata") if _is_meta_resident(rfc) else ("rfc_branch",)
         placeholders = ",".join("?" * len(pr_kinds))
         pr_rows = db.conn().execute(
             f"""
@@ -204,17 +204,18 @@ def make_router(
             for r in pr_rows
         ]
 
-        # For super-drafts the cached body is entry.body already (see
+        # For meta-resident entries the cached body is entry.body already
-        # cache._upsert_cached_rfc), so no extraction is needed.
+        # (see cache._upsert_cached_rfc), so no extraction is needed.
-        # §9.8 / §13.4 pre-graduation history: for active RFCs, surface
+        # Pre-graduation history is a LEGACY-only affordance: under the
-        # any `threads` or `changes` rows whose `branch_name` starts with
+        # meta-only topology (§1, §13.4) graduation moves nothing, so an
-        # `edit-<slug>-` so the breadcrumb dropdown can render the
+        # active RFC's edit branches are its *current* branches and already
-        # affordance as a distinct disclosure alongside main, open
+        # surface in `branches` above — there is no separate pre-graduation
-        # branches, and open PRs. The slug is the canonical key per §2.3
+        # set. The disclosure is therefore computed only for a legacy
-        # before and after graduation, so the query is a straightforward
+        # per-RFC-repo active entry (`repo` set), where edit branches on the
-        # lookup — no data movement.
+        # meta repo genuinely predate the per-RFC repo and would otherwise
+        # not appear. After the RFC-0001 fold-back (§13.6) nothing matches.
         pre_grad: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
-        if rfc["state"] == "active":
+        if rfc["state"] == "active" and rfc["repo"]:
             pre_grad_rows = db.conn().execute(
                 """
                 SELECT t.branch_name,
@@ -292,8 +293,20 @@ def make_router(
         owner, repo = _repo_for(rfc)
         new_branch = (body.branch_name or "").strip()
         if not new_branch:
-            new_branch = _auto_branch_name(viewer.gitea_login)
+            # Meta-only topology (§1): an active RFC's branches live on the
-        _validate_branch_name(new_branch)
+            # shared meta repo, so the auto name must embed the slug for the
+            # cache to attribute it (`edit-<slug>-<hex>`, recovered by
+            # `_slug_from_branch_name`). A legacy per-RFC-repo entry can use
+            # the slug-free `<login>-draft-<hex>` since every branch there
+            # belongs to the one RFC. The auto name is trusted (it carries a
+            # reserved `edit-` prefix by design); only a user-supplied name
+            # is validated, mirroring `start_edit_branch`.
+            new_branch = (
+                _auto_edit_branch_name(slug) if _is_meta_resident(rfc)
+                else _auto_branch_name(viewer.gitea_login)
+            )
+        else:
+            _validate_branch_name(new_branch)
         try:
             await bot.cut_branch_from_main(
                 viewer.as_actor(),
@@ -326,8 +339,10 @@ def make_router(
         _ensure_branch_vis(slug, new_branch, creator_user_id=viewer.user_id)
 
         # Make the cache aware immediately so the breadcrumb reflects
-        # the new branch without waiting for the webhook hop.
+        # the new branch without waiting for the webhook hop. Meta-resident
-        await cache.refresh_rfc_repo(config, gitea, slug)
+        # entries (§1) refresh meta branches; a legacy per-RFC repo refreshes
+        # its own — `_refresh_cache_for` dispatches on residency.
+        await _refresh_cache_for(rfc)
 
         return {"branch_name": new_branch, "slug": slug}
 
@@ -1081,14 +1096,14 @@ def make_router(
         return row
 
     def _require_rfc_with_repo(slug: str):
-        """Used by every branch-scoped endpoint. For active RFCs, a repo is
+        """Used by every branch-scoped endpoint. Under the meta-only
-        required. For super-drafts, the meta repo is the implicit target —
+        topology (§1) the meta repo is the implicit target for every
-        no per-RFC repo check needed."""
+        entry — super-draft and active alike — so there is no per-RFC
+        repo check. The name is retained for call-site stability; a
+        withdrawn entry is still rejected."""
         row = _require_rfc(slug)
         if row["state"] == "withdrawn":
             raise HTTPException(409, "RFC is withdrawn")
-        if row["state"] == "active" and not row["repo"]:
-            raise HTTPException(409, "RFC has no repo")
         return row
 
     def _require_active_rfc(slug: str):
@@ -1106,22 +1121,28 @@ def make_router(
     def _is_super_draft(rfc) -> bool:
         return rfc["state"] == "super-draft"
 
+    def _is_meta_resident(rfc) -> bool:
+        """Meta-only topology (§1): an entry lives in the meta repo's
+        `rfcs/<slug>.md` (super-draft or active-in-place) unless it carries
+        a legacy per-RFC `repo:` — which nothing does after the RFC-0001
+        fold-back (§13.6)."""
+        return not rfc["repo"]
+
     def _is_meta_branch_name(name: str) -> bool:
         """A branch name shaped like one of the bot's meta-repo prefixes.
-        §9.8's pre-graduation history affordance points the new RFC view
+        Retained for the legacy per-RFC-repo read path; under meta-only
-        at branches matching `edit-<slug>-...` even after the entry is
+        every entry is already a meta target via `_is_meta_resident`."""
-        active; treating those names as meta-repo targets lets the read
-        path dispatch correctly without a separate endpoint."""
         return name != "main" and name.startswith((
             "edit-", "edit/", "metadata-", "metadata/", "claim/", "propose/",
             "graduate-",
         ))
 
     def _is_meta_target(rfc, branch: str) -> bool:
-        """Either a super-draft branch (active edit branch or the
+        """A meta-resident entry (super-draft or active-in-place, §1)
-        canonical body) or an active RFC's pre-graduation meta-repo
+        targets the meta repo for every branch. The branch-name fallback
-        branch surfaced through the §9.8 history affordance."""
+        covers the retired per-RFC-repo case for any legacy entry that
-        if _is_super_draft(rfc):
+        still carries a `repo:`."""
+        if _is_meta_resident(rfc):
             return True
         return _is_meta_branch_name(branch)
 
@@ -1161,7 +1182,7 @@ def make_router(
         return entry_mod.serialize(entry)
 
     async def _refresh_cache_for(rfc) -> None:
-        if _is_super_draft(rfc):
+        if _is_meta_resident(rfc):
             await cache.refresh_meta_repo(config, gitea)
             await cache.refresh_meta_branches(config, gitea)
         else:
@@ -1270,12 +1291,13 @@ def make_router(
             return False
         if branch == "main":
             return False
-        # §9.8: pre-graduation history branches are read-only on the
+        # §9.8 (LEGACY per-repo only): pre-graduation history branches are
-        # post-graduation surface. The contributor can re-cut against the
+        # read-only on the post-graduation surface of a per-RFC-repo active
-        # new repo's main if they still want the work, but the meta-repo
+        # entry. Under the meta-only topology (§1, §13.4) an active RFC's
-        # branches that lived on the super-draft are not editable from
+        # `edit-<slug>-…` branches are its *current* editable branches, not
-        # the active-RFC view.
+        # a frozen pre-graduation set, so this guard applies only when a
-        if rfc["state"] == "active" and _is_meta_branch_name(branch):
+        # legacy `repo:` is set (nothing, after the RFC-0001 fold-back).
+        if rfc["state"] == "active" and rfc["repo"] and _is_meta_branch_name(branch):
             return False
         if viewer.role in ("owner", "admin"):
             return True
@@ -1302,7 +1324,7 @@ def make_router(
 
     def _require_can_contribute(slug: str, branch: str, viewer) -> None:
         rfc = db.conn().execute(
-            "SELECT state, owners_json, arbiters_json FROM cached_rfcs WHERE slug = ?",
+            "SELECT state, repo, owners_json, arbiters_json FROM cached_rfcs WHERE slug = ?",
             (slug,),
         ).fetchone()
         if not _can_contribute(rfc, slug, branch, viewer):

backend/app/api_contributions.py

@@ -0,0 +1,311 @@
+"""v0.29.0 / roadmap #28 Part 3 — offer-to-contribute-to-a-pending-RFC.
+
+When the #28 scanner (see ``rfc_links.py``) matches a term in submitted
+PR/comment text to a **pending** RFC — a super-draft
+(``cached_rfcs.state='super-draft'``: accepted as an idea, owned, with a
+contribution surface, but not yet graduated to an active RFC) — the
+reader is offered an "ask to contribute" popover. This module is the
+backend for that flow:
+
+  * ``GET  /api/rfcs/{slug}/contribution-target``      — what the
+    contribute form needs (RFC title, owner display, the viewer's
+    eligibility + whether they already have a pending ask).
+  * ``POST /api/rfcs/{slug}/contribution-requests``    — submit the ask
+    (who-I-am / why / optional use-case); lands a row + one §15
+    notification per owner.
+  * ``POST /api/rfcs/{slug}/contribution-requests/{id}/accept``  — owner:
+    accept, which fires #12's owner-invite flow with the requester as the
+    invitee (opening the RFC's discussion/contribution surface), then
+    echoes a notification back to the requester.
+  * ``POST /api/rfcs/{slug}/contribution-requests/{id}/decline`` — owner:
+    decline; the request closes and the requester is notified.
+
+"Pending" is scoped to a super-draft because that is the state with an
+owner to route to, a contribution surface to open, and a row in
+``cached_rfcs`` for the ``rfc_invitations`` FK the accept path reuses.
+Pre-merge idea PRs are deliberately out of scope (no contribution
+surface yet) — a documented future extension, mirroring the
+conservative scoping in ``rfc_links.py``.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import sqlite3
+from typing import Any
+
+from fastapi import APIRouter, HTTPException, Request
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
+
+from . import api_invitations, auth, db, notify
+
+# Field caps — generous for free text, bounded so a request row (and the
+# notification payload that carries it) can't be used to store unbounded
+# blobs. Mirrors the order-of-magnitude of the propose/tag-suggest caps.
+_WHO_MAX = 2000
+_WHY_MAX = 4000
+_USE_CASE_MAX = 4000
+_TERM_MAX = 200
+
+
+class ContributionRequestBody(BaseModel):
+    # The term in the PR/comment text that surfaced the offer (the
+    # super-draft's title/slug). Carried for the owner's context line.
+    matched_term: str = Field(min_length=1, max_length=_TERM_MAX)
+    who_i_am: str = Field(min_length=1, max_length=_WHO_MAX)
+    why: str = Field(min_length=1, max_length=_WHY_MAX)
+    use_case: str | None = Field(default=None, max_length=_USE_CASE_MAX)
+
+
+def _require_super_draft(slug: str):
+    """The contribute surface only operates on a *pending* RFC. 404 on
+    unknown; 409 on a state that isn't a super-draft (active RFCs use the
+    Part-1 link, not a contribute offer; withdrawn is closed)."""
+    row = db.conn().execute(
+        "SELECT slug, title, state, owners_json, proposed_by FROM cached_rfcs WHERE slug = ?",
+        (slug,),
+    ).fetchone()
+    if row is None:
+        raise HTTPException(404, "RFC not found")
+    if row["state"] != "super-draft":
+        raise HTTPException(409, "RFC is not a pending super-draft")
+    return row
+
+
+def _require_request(slug: str, request_id: int):
+    row = db.conn().execute(
+        """
+        SELECT id, rfc_slug, requester_user_id, matched_term, who_i_am, why,
+               use_case, status
+          FROM contribution_requests WHERE id = ? AND rfc_slug = ?
+        """,
+        (request_id, slug),
+    ).fetchone()
+    if row is None:
+        raise HTTPException(404, "Contribution request not found")
+    return row
+
+
+def _viewer_relationship(viewer, slug: str) -> str | None:
+    """Why this viewer can't *request* to contribute — or None if they can.
+    Owners/admins already have the RFC; existing collaborators are already
+    in. Both get a clear 409 rather than a useless self-request."""
+    if auth.is_rfc_owner(viewer, slug) or viewer.role in ("owner", "admin"):
+        return "You already own or administer this RFC."
+    if auth.is_rfc_collaborator(viewer, slug):
+        return "You're already a collaborator on this RFC."
+    return None
+
+
+def make_router() -> APIRouter:
+    router = APIRouter()
+
+    # ---------------------------------------------------------------
+    # GET — what the contribute form needs to render + gate itself.
+    # ---------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    @router.get("/api/rfcs/{slug}/contribution-target")
+    async def contribution_target(slug: str, request: Request) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        row = db.conn().execute(
+            "SELECT slug, title, state, owners_json, proposed_by FROM cached_rfcs WHERE slug = ?",
+            (slug,),
+        ).fetchone()
+        if row is None:
+            raise HTTPException(404, "RFC not found")
+
+        from . import rfc_links  # local import: avoid a module import cycle
+
+        owner = rfc_links._owner_display(db.conn(), row["owners_json"], row["proposed_by"])
+        viewer = auth.current_user(request)
+
+        eligible = True
+        reason: str | None = None
+        already_requested = False
+        if row["state"] != "super-draft":
+            eligible, reason = False, "This RFC is no longer pending."
+        elif viewer is None:
+            eligible, reason = False, "Sign in to ask to contribute."
+        elif viewer.permission_state != "granted":
+            eligible, reason = False, "Your beta access request is in review."
+        else:
+            reason = _viewer_relationship(viewer, slug)
+            if reason is not None:
+                eligible = False
+            else:
+                already_requested = bool(
+                    db.conn().execute(
+                        """
+                        SELECT 1 FROM contribution_requests
+                         WHERE rfc_slug = ? AND requester_user_id = ? AND status = 'pending'
+                         LIMIT 1
+                        """,
+                        (slug, viewer.user_id),
+                    ).fetchone()
+                )
+
+        return {
+            "slug": row["slug"],
+            "title": row["title"],
+            "owner": owner,
+            "eligible": eligible and not already_requested,
+            "reason": reason,
+            "already_requested": already_requested,
+        }
+
+    # ---------------------------------------------------------------
+    # POST — submit a contribute request.
+    # ---------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    @router.post("/api/rfcs/{slug}/contribution-requests")
+    async def create_contribution_request(
+        slug: str, body: ContributionRequestBody, request: Request
+    ) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        viewer = auth.require_contributor(request)
+        _require_super_draft(slug)
+
+        reason = _viewer_relationship(viewer, slug)
+        if reason is not None:
+            raise HTTPException(409, reason)
+
+        who_i_am = body.who_i_am.strip()
+        why = body.why.strip()
+        use_case = (body.use_case or "").strip() or None
+        matched_term = body.matched_term.strip()
+        if not who_i_am or not why:
+            raise HTTPException(422, "Both 'who I am' and 'why' are required.")
+
+        try:
+            cur = db.conn().execute(
+                """
+                INSERT INTO contribution_requests
+                    (rfc_slug, requester_user_id, matched_term, who_i_am, why, use_case)
+                VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
+                """,
+                (slug, viewer.user_id, matched_term, who_i_am, why, use_case),
+            )
+        except sqlite3.IntegrityError:
+            # The partial unique index — one open request per (RFC, user).
+            raise HTTPException(409, "You already have a pending request to contribute to this RFC.")
+        request_id = cur.lastrowid
+
+        # One actionable notification per owner; stamp the first onto the
+        # row as the inbox-action handle (any owner can act on the request).
+        notif_ids = notify.fan_out_contribution_request(
+            rfc_slug=slug,
+            requester_user_id=viewer.user_id,
+            request_id=request_id,
+            matched_term=matched_term,
+            who_i_am=who_i_am,
+            why=why,
+            use_case=use_case,
+        )
+        if notif_ids:
+            db.conn().execute(
+                "UPDATE contribution_requests SET notification_id = ? WHERE id = ?",
+                (notif_ids[0], request_id),
+            )
+
+        return {"id": request_id, "rfc_slug": slug, "status": "pending"}
+
+    # ---------------------------------------------------------------
+    # POST — owner accepts → fire #12's invite flow.
+    # ---------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    @router.post("/api/rfcs/{slug}/contribution-requests/{request_id}/accept")
+    async def accept_contribution_request(
+        slug: str, request_id: int, request: Request
+    ) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        viewer = auth.require_contributor(request)
+        rfc = _require_super_draft(slug)
+        if not auth.can_invite_to_rfc(viewer, slug):
+            raise HTTPException(403, "Only the RFC's owner can act on contribution requests")
+
+        req = _require_request(slug, request_id)
+        if req["status"] != "pending":
+            raise HTTPException(409, f"This request was already {req['status']}.")
+
+        requester = db.conn().execute(
+            "SELECT id, email FROM users WHERE id = ?", (req["requester_user_id"],)
+        ).fetchone()
+        if requester is None or not (requester["email"] or "").strip():
+            raise HTTPException(422, "The requester has no email address on file to invite.")
+
+        # Fire #12's owner-invite flow with the requester as the invitee.
+        # If a pending contributor invitation already exists (the owner
+        # invited them out-of-band first), reuse it rather than failing.
+        try:
+            invitation = api_invitations.issue_invitation(
+                slug=slug,
+                inviter_user_id=viewer.user_id,
+                inviter_display=viewer.display_name or viewer.gitea_login or "An RFC owner",
+                invitee_email=requester["email"],
+                role_in_rfc="contributor",
+                rfc_title=rfc["title"],
+            )
+            invitation_id = invitation["id"]
+        except HTTPException as exc:
+            if exc.status_code != 409:
+                raise
+            existing = db.conn().execute(
+                """
+                SELECT id FROM rfc_invitations
+                 WHERE rfc_slug = ? AND invitee_email = ? COLLATE NOCASE
+                   AND role_in_rfc = 'contributor' AND status = 'pending'
+                 ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT 1
+                """,
+                (slug, requester["email"].strip()),
+            ).fetchone()
+            invitation_id = existing["id"] if existing else None
+
+        db.conn().execute(
+            """
+            UPDATE contribution_requests
+               SET status = 'accepted', decided_at = datetime('now'),
+                   decided_by_user_id = ?, invitation_id = ?
+             WHERE id = ?
+            """,
+            (viewer.user_id, invitation_id, request_id),
+        )
+        notify.notify_contribution_decided(
+            rfc_slug=slug,
+            requester_user_id=req["requester_user_id"],
+            decider_user_id=viewer.user_id,
+            request_id=request_id,
+            accepted=True,
+        )
+        return {"ok": True, "status": "accepted", "invitation_id": invitation_id}
+
+    # ---------------------------------------------------------------
+    # POST — owner declines.
+    # ---------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    @router.post("/api/rfcs/{slug}/contribution-requests/{request_id}/decline")
+    async def decline_contribution_request(
+        slug: str, request_id: int, request: Request
+    ) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        viewer = auth.require_contributor(request)
+        _require_super_draft(slug)
+        if not auth.can_invite_to_rfc(viewer, slug):
+            raise HTTPException(403, "Only the RFC's owner can act on contribution requests")
+
+        req = _require_request(slug, request_id)
+        if req["status"] != "pending":
+            raise HTTPException(409, f"This request was already {req['status']}.")
+
+        db.conn().execute(
+            """
+            UPDATE contribution_requests
+               SET status = 'declined', decided_at = datetime('now'),
+                   decided_by_user_id = ?
+             WHERE id = ?
+            """,
+            (viewer.user_id, request_id),
+        )
+        notify.notify_contribution_decided(
+            rfc_slug=slug,
+            requester_user_id=req["requester_user_id"],
+            decider_user_id=viewer.user_id,
+            request_id=request_id,
+            accepted=False,
+        )
+        return {"ok": True, "status": "declined"}
+
+    return router

backend/app/api_graduation.py

@@ -1,26 +1,30 @@
-"""Slice 5 API surface — the §13 graduation flow's endpoints and the
+"""§13 graduation flow — the meta-only in-place state flip.
-in-process orchestrator that runs the §13.3 transactional sequence with
-rollback.
 
-Owns four routes per §17:
+Under the meta-only topology (SPEC §1), graduation no longer creates a
+per-RFC repo. It is a single frontmatter-flipping commit to the entry's
+`rfcs/<slug>.md` on the meta repo: open a PR that re-serializes the entry
+with `state: active`, the assigned integer `id`, `graduated_at` /
+`graduated_by`, and the dialog's owners — **leaving the body unchanged** —
+then auto-merge it. There is no repo to create, nothing to seed, and the
+body is neither moved nor stripped, so there is no multi-step transaction
+and no rollback (§13.3). If the open or merge fails, the entry stays a
+super-draft and we clean up the half-open PR/branch (the only artifact a
+mid-flip failure can leave behind).
+
+Routes (§17):
 
-  - GET  /api/rfcs/<slug>/blocking-prs         (§13.2 precondition popover)
   - GET  /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate/check       (§13.2 debounced validator)
-  - POST /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate             (§13.3 kickoff)
+  - POST /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate             (§13.3 the flip)
   - GET  /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate/progress    (§13.3 SSE step stream)
+  - GET  /api/rfcs/<slug>/blocking-prs         (informational; no longer a
+                                                graduation precondition)
 
-Plus the §13.1 claim PR endpoint (POST /api/rfcs/<slug>/claim), which is
+Plus the §13.1 claim PR endpoint (POST /api/rfcs/<slug>/claim).
-graduation's prerequisite for non-admins per §13.1.
 
 The orchestrator runs in-process — each in-flight graduation lives in a
 small `GraduationState` keyed by slug, with an asyncio.Queue feeding the
-SSE handler. Per the §13.3 transactional contract, every forward step is
+SSE handler. §13.4's chat/branch/history are a database no-op: every row
-paired with an undo; rollback runs the undos in reverse order from the
+is keyed by the slug per §2.3 and stays put across the flip.
-last step that completed. §13.4's chat migration is a database semantic
-no-op (the threads' `(rfc_slug, branch_name='main')` rows are interpreted
-as super-draft canonical-body before graduation and as new-RFC main
-afterwards — same shape, different meaning), so the only DB work the
-sequence does is the audit-log rows the bot's `_log` writes per step.
 """
 from __future__ import annotations
 
@@ -44,24 +48,18 @@ log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Step machine
+# Step machine — two steps under meta-only: open the flip PR, merge it.
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 STEP_KEYS = (
-    "create_repo",
-    "seed_files",
     "open_pr",
     "merge_pr",
-    "refresh_cache",
 )
 
 STEP_LABELS = {
-    "create_repo": "Create per-RFC repository",
+    "open_pr": "Open graduation PR (flip state to active)",
-    "seed_files": "Seed RFC.md, README.md, and .rfc/metadata.yaml",
-    "open_pr": "Open meta-repo graduation PR",
     "merge_pr": "Merge graduation PR",
-    "refresh_cache": "Refresh catalog and views",
 }
 
 
@@ -77,8 +75,6 @@ class StepState:
 class GraduationState:
     slug: str
     rfc_id: str
-    repo_name: str
-    repo_full: str
     owners: list[str]
     arbiters: list[str]
     steps: list[StepState]
@@ -86,8 +82,6 @@ class GraduationState:
     finished: bool = False
     succeeded: bool = False
     error: str | None = None
-    rollback_started: bool = False
-    rollback_steps: list[StepState] = field(default_factory=list)
     new_pr_number: int | None = None
     graduation_branch: str | None = None
 
@@ -95,12 +89,9 @@ class GraduationState:
         return {
             "slug": self.slug,
             "rfc_id": self.rfc_id,
-            "repo_full": self.repo_full,
             "steps": [_step_payload(s) for s in self.steps],
-            "rollback_steps": [_step_payload(s) for s in self.rollback_steps],
             "finished": self.finished,
             "succeeded": self.succeeded,
-            "rolled_back": self.rollback_started,
             "error": self.error,
             "pr_number": self.new_pr_number,
         }
@@ -114,7 +105,7 @@ def _step_payload(s: StepState) -> dict:
 # is fine; the registry is keyed by slug to refuse concurrent graduations
 # of the same entry (the §13.2 atomic re-check is a separate defense
 # against a concurrent attempt of a DIFFERENT slug claiming the same
-# integer ID or repo name).
+# integer ID).
 _active: dict[str, GraduationState] = {}
 
 
@@ -122,10 +113,10 @@ def _get_active(slug: str) -> GraduationState | None:
     return _active.get(slug)
 
 
-def _new_active(slug: str, *, rfc_id: str, repo_name: str, repo_full: str,
+def _new_active(slug: str, *, rfc_id: str,
                 owners: list[str], arbiters: list[str]) -> GraduationState:
     state = GraduationState(
-        slug=slug, rfc_id=rfc_id, repo_name=repo_name, repo_full=repo_full,
+        slug=slug, rfc_id=rfc_id,
         owners=owners, arbiters=arbiters,
         steps=[StepState(key=k, label=STEP_LABELS[k]) for k in STEP_KEYS],
     )
@@ -138,17 +129,9 @@ def _new_active(slug: str, *, rfc_id: str, repo_name: str, repo_full: str,
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
-# §13.2: Gitea repo name pattern. Gitea accepts alphanumerics, dashes,
-# dots, and underscores; cannot start with a dot. 100-char cap as a sane
-# upper bound — the spec doesn't pin a max but Gitea's enforcement does.
-_REPO_NAME_RE = re.compile(r"^[a-zA-Z0-9][a-zA-Z0-9._-]{0,99}$")
 _RFC_ID_RE = re.compile(r"^RFC-\d{4,}$")
 
 
-def _is_valid_repo_name(name: str) -> bool:
-    return bool(_REPO_NAME_RE.match(name)) and ".." not in name
-
-
 def _is_valid_rfc_id(rfc_id: str) -> bool:
     return bool(_RFC_ID_RE.match(rfc_id))
 
@@ -167,13 +150,6 @@ def _suggest_next_rfc_id() -> str:
     return f"RFC-{nxt:04d}"
 
 
-def _suggest_repo_name(slug: str, rfc_id: str) -> str:
-    # rfc-NNNN-<slug> per §13.2's default. Strip the 'RFC-' prefix and
-    # lowercase the number-pad.
-    num = rfc_id.split("-", 1)[1] if "-" in rfc_id else "0001"
-    return f"rfc-{num}-{slug}"
-
-
 def _rfc_id_taken(rfc_id: str, *, excluding_slug: str) -> bool:
     row = db.conn().execute(
         "SELECT slug FROM cached_rfcs WHERE rfc_id = ? AND slug != ?",
@@ -189,7 +165,6 @@ def _rfc_id_taken(rfc_id: str, *, excluding_slug: str) -> bool:
 
 class GraduateBody(BaseModel):
     rfc_id: str = Field(min_length=5, max_length=40)
-    repo_name: str = Field(min_length=1, max_length=100)
     owners: list[str] = Field(min_length=1)
 
 
@@ -206,19 +181,17 @@ def make_router(
     router = APIRouter()
 
     # -------------------------------------------------------------------
-    # §13.2: GET /api/rfcs/<slug>/blocking-prs
+    # GET /api/rfcs/<slug>/blocking-prs
-    # Lists open meta-repo PRs against rfcs/<slug>.md per the precondition
+    # Lists open meta-repo body-edit PRs against rfcs/<slug>.md. Under the
-    # popover. Returns PR number, title, author, last-activity timestamp,
+    # meta-only topology (§9.8) these no longer block graduation — the body
-    # and the viewer's available actions (merge, withdraw, open-in-new-tab).
+    # is kept, so a body-edit PR coexists with the flip. Retained as an
+    # informational surface (the dialog can show "N body-edit PRs open").
     # -------------------------------------------------------------------
 
     @router.get("/api/rfcs/{slug}/blocking-prs")
     async def list_blocking_prs(slug: str, request: Request) -> dict[str, Any]:
         viewer = auth.current_user(request)
         rfc = _require_super_draft(slug)
-        # §13's opening paragraph: only body-edit PRs block graduation.
-        # Bare edit branches without an open PR do not block. The query
-        # filters cached_prs to open meta_body_edit kinds for this slug.
         rows = db.conn().execute(
             """
             SELECT pr_number, title, opened_by, opened_at, head_branch, pr_kind
@@ -261,14 +234,15 @@ def make_router(
                     "open_in_new_tab": True,
                 },
             })
-        return {"items": items}
+        # `blocking` is a legacy field name kept for client compatibility;
+        # under §9.8 these PRs do not block graduation.
+        return {"items": items, "blocking": False}
 
     # -------------------------------------------------------------------
-    # §13.2: GET /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate/check?id=&repo=
+    # GET /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate/check?id=
     # Inline validation for the Graduate dialog — debounced from the
-    # client; the dialog calls this as the admin types. Returns per-field
+    # client. Two fields under meta-only: the integer ID and the owners
-    # collision/validity from the catalog cache plus a server-authoritative
+    # precondition. There is no repo name to validate (§13.2).
-    # repo-name collision check.
     # -------------------------------------------------------------------
 
     @router.get("/api/rfcs/{slug}/graduate/check")
@@ -281,16 +255,7 @@ def make_router(
                     # admins/owners, but the check itself is read-only.
 
         candidate_id = (request.query_params.get("id") or "").strip()
-        candidate_repo = (request.query_params.get("repo") or "").strip()
-
         owners = json.loads(rfc["owners_json"] or "[]")
-        blocking_count = db.conn().execute(
-            """
-            SELECT COUNT(*) AS n FROM cached_prs
-             WHERE rfc_slug = ? AND state = 'open' AND pr_kind = 'meta_body_edit'
-            """,
-            (slug,),
-        ).fetchone()["n"]
 
         # ID field
         id_payload: dict[str, Any] = {"value": candidate_id, "ok": True, "error": None}
@@ -304,34 +269,6 @@ def make_router(
             id_payload["ok"] = False
             id_payload["error"] = f"Integer ID {candidate_id} is already taken"
 
-        # Repo field — validate pattern then probe Gitea for an existing
-        # repo of that name under our org. The repo lookup is a single GET
-        # so it's cheap to call on every keystroke (debounced from the
-        # client per §13.2).
-        repo_payload: dict[str, Any] = {"value": candidate_repo, "ok": True, "error": None}
-        if not candidate_repo:
-            repo_payload["ok"] = False
-            repo_payload["error"] = "Repo name is required"
-        elif not _is_valid_repo_name(candidate_repo):
-            repo_payload["ok"] = False
-            repo_payload["error"] = (
-                "Repo name must be alphanumerics, dashes, dots, or underscores "
-                "(start with alphanumeric)"
-            )
-        else:
-            try:
-                existing = await gitea.get_repo(config.gitea_org, candidate_repo)
-            except GiteaError as e:
-                # Network/auth flake — surface as a non-fatal hint; the
-                # atomic server-side check at POST time is the authority.
-                existing = None
-                log.warning("graduate_check: Gitea get_repo error: %s", e)
-            if existing is not None:
-                repo_payload["ok"] = False
-                repo_payload["error"] = (
-                    f"Repo `{config.gitea_org}/{candidate_repo}` already exists"
-                )
-
         # Owners precondition — §13's opening paragraph.
         owners_payload: dict[str, Any] = {
             "ok": len(owners) > 0,
@@ -340,28 +277,13 @@ def make_router(
             "error": None if len(owners) > 0 else "No owners claimed yet",
         }
 
-        # Blocking PR precondition — §9.8 / §13's opening paragraph.
-        prs_payload: dict[str, Any] = {
-            "ok": blocking_count == 0,
-            "count": blocking_count,
-            "error": (
-                None if blocking_count == 0
-                else f"{blocking_count} open body-edit PR{'' if blocking_count == 1 else 's'} blocking graduation"
-            ),
-        }
-
         in_flight = _get_active(slug)
-        any_invalid = not (
+        any_invalid = not (id_payload["ok"] and owners_payload["ok"])
-            id_payload["ok"] and repo_payload["ok"]
-            and owners_payload["ok"] and prs_payload["ok"]
-        )
 
         return {
             "slug": slug,
             "id": id_payload,
-            "repo": repo_payload,
             "owners": owners_payload,
-            "blocking_prs": prs_payload,
             "can_submit": (not any_invalid) and (in_flight is None or in_flight.finished),
             "in_flight": (
                 None if in_flight is None
@@ -370,8 +292,8 @@ def make_router(
         }
 
     # -------------------------------------------------------------------
-    # §13.3: POST /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate
+    # POST /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate
-    # Atomic re-validation, then kicks off the sequence as an async task.
+    # Atomic re-validation, then kicks off the flip as an async task.
     # The client opens GET /graduate/progress on confirm to watch the SSE.
     # -------------------------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -392,9 +314,8 @@ def make_router(
 
         # §13.2 atomic re-validation. The dialog's debounced check runs
         # client-side as the admin types; this is the authoritative check
-        # that closes the dialog-open-to-confirm race.
+        # that closes the dialog-open-to-confirm race on the integer ID.
         rfc_id = body.rfc_id.strip()
-        repo_name = body.repo_name.strip()
         owners = [o.strip() for o in body.owners if o.strip()]
         if not owners:
             raise HTTPException(422, "Add at least one initial owner")
@@ -402,35 +323,10 @@ def make_router(
             raise HTTPException(422, "ID must look like RFC-NNNN (at least four digits)")
         if _rfc_id_taken(rfc_id, excluding_slug=slug):
             raise HTTPException(409, f"Integer ID {rfc_id} is already taken")
-        if not _is_valid_repo_name(repo_name):
-            raise HTTPException(422, "Repo name must be alphanumerics, dashes, dots, or underscores")
-        try:
-            existing_repo = await gitea.get_repo(config.gitea_org, repo_name)
-        except GiteaError as e:
-            raise HTTPException(502, f"Gitea: {e.detail}")
-        if existing_repo is not None:
-            raise HTTPException(409, f"Repo `{config.gitea_org}/{repo_name}` already exists")
-
-        # §9.8 precondition gate — enforced before the bot starts the
-        # sequence so the §13.3 rollback complexity does not grow. An
-        # open body-edit PR against rfcs/<slug>.md would attempt to
-        # re-introduce a body to a frontmatter-only entry after step 3.
-        blocking = db.conn().execute(
-            """
-            SELECT COUNT(*) AS n FROM cached_prs
-             WHERE rfc_slug = ? AND state = 'open' AND pr_kind = 'meta_body_edit'
-            """,
-            (slug,),
-        ).fetchone()["n"]
-        if blocking > 0:
-            raise HTTPException(
-                409,
-                f"{blocking} open body-edit PR{'' if blocking == 1 else 's'} block graduation",
-            )
 
         # Read the meta-repo entry once — we need the file's sha for the
-        # graduation PR's update_file call and the original body so the
+        # graduation PR's update_file call and the body to carry through
-        # bot can seed RFC.md on the new repo with the migrated body.
+        # unchanged (meta-only keeps the body in the entry, §13.3).
         fetched = await gitea.read_file(
             config.gitea_org, config.meta_repo, f"rfcs/{slug}.md", ref="main",
         )
@@ -442,19 +338,17 @@ def make_router(
         except Exception as e:
             raise HTTPException(500, f"Meta entry malformed: {e}")
 
-        repo_full = f"{config.gitea_org}/{repo_name}"
         arbiters = json.loads(rfc["arbiters_json"] or "[]") or owners[:1]
 
-        # Compose the graduated frontmatter — body stripped, graduation
+        # Compose the graduated frontmatter — body KEPT, graduation fields
-        # fields filled. The serializer is run now so the PR-open step
+        # filled, repo left null (§1). Serialized now so the PR-open step
-        # has the contents pre-rendered (single source of truth for the
+        # has the contents pre-rendered.
-        # body migration vs. the meta-entry update).
         graduated_entry = entry_mod.Entry(
             slug=slug,
             title=super_draft_entry.title,
             state="active",
             id=rfc_id,
-            repo=repo_full,
+            repo=None,
             proposed_by=super_draft_entry.proposed_by,
             proposed_at=super_draft_entry.proposed_at,
             graduated_at=entry_mod.today(),
@@ -462,37 +356,30 @@ def make_router(
             owners=owners,
             arbiters=arbiters,
             tags=list(super_draft_entry.tags),
-            body="",
+            models=super_draft_entry.models,
+            funder=super_draft_entry.funder,
+            body=super_draft_entry.body,
         )
         graduated_contents = entry_mod.serialize(graduated_entry)
 
         state = _new_active(
-            slug, rfc_id=rfc_id, repo_name=repo_name, repo_full=repo_full,
+            slug, rfc_id=rfc_id, owners=owners, arbiters=arbiters,
-            owners=owners, arbiters=arbiters,
         )
 
         # Audit: graduation started. The terminal `graduate_complete` /
-        # `graduate_rollback` rows below close the linkable sequence.
+        # `graduate_failed` rows below close the linkable sequence.
         _audit(
             viewer.user_id, viewer.gitea_login, "graduate_start",
             rfc_slug=slug,
-            details={
+            details={"rfc_id": rfc_id, "owners": owners},
-                "rfc_id": rfc_id, "repo": repo_full, "owners": owners,
-                "blocking_prs": blocking,
-            },
         )
 
         # Test seam: `?_sync=1` awaits the orchestrator inline so
         # integration tests can assert post-conditions without driving
-        # the SSE. Production clients use the spec-described shape —
+        # the SSE. Production clients POST then subscribe to the SSE.
-        # POST returns immediately, the client subscribes to the
-        # progress SSE.
         coro = _orchestrate(
             config=config, gitea=gitea, bot=bot,
             actor=viewer.as_actor(), state=state,
-            super_draft_body=super_draft_entry.body,
-            super_draft_title=super_draft_entry.title,
-            super_draft_tags=list(super_draft_entry.tags),
             graduated_contents=graduated_contents,
             meta_file_sha=meta_sha,
         )
@@ -505,38 +392,31 @@ def make_router(
             "ok": True,
             "slug": slug,
             "rfc_id": rfc_id,
-            "repo": repo_full,
             "stream_url": f"/api/rfcs/{slug}/graduate/progress",
             "finished": state.finished,
             "succeeded": state.succeeded,
         }
 
     # -------------------------------------------------------------------
-    # §13.3: GET /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate/progress
+    # GET /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate/progress
-    # SSE stream of the step transitions. One event per step transition
+    # SSE stream of the flip's step transitions (open_pr, merge_pr).
-    # (pending → running → done / failed), plus the trailing rollback
-    # step's events if any earlier step fails.
     # -------------------------------------------------------------------
 
     @router.get("/api/rfcs/{slug}/graduate/progress")
     async def graduate_progress(slug: str, request: Request):
-        # v0.6.0 (item #4): the progress SSE surfaces admin-internal step
+        # The progress SSE surfaces admin-internal step detail (PR number)
-        # detail (repo name, PR number, rollback steps) that isn't part of
+        # that isn't part of the anonymous-read contract. POST /graduate is
-        # the v0.3.0 anonymous-read contract for catalog/RFC bodies. The
+        # gated to RFC owners/arbiters and app admins/owners; the read SSE
-        # corresponding POST /graduate is gated to RFC owners/arbiters and
+        # shares that operator-visible surface and requires an authenticated
-        # app admins/owners via `_can_graduate`; the read SSE shares that
+        # viewer. We keep the floor at require_user (not require_contributor)
-        # operator-visible surface, so it requires at least an
+        # so a write-muted operator can still observe a graduation they
-        # authenticated viewer. We keep the floor at require_user (not
+        # kicked off before being muted.
-        # require_contributor) so a write-muted operator can still observe
-        # the progress of a graduation they kicked off before being muted.
         auth.require_user(request)
         state = _get_active(slug)
         if state is None:
             raise HTTPException(404, "No graduation in flight for this slug")
 
         async def event_stream():
-            # Emit the current snapshot first so a late subscriber sees
-            # the steps already completed.
             yield _sse_event("snapshot", state.to_payload())
             if state.finished:
                 yield _sse_event("done", state.to_payload())
@@ -555,22 +435,16 @@ def make_router(
     # §13.1: POST /api/rfcs/<slug>/claim
     # Opens a meta-repo PR adding the actor's gitea_login to the entry's
     # owners list. Anyone signed in may claim — the merge is gated to
-    # owners/admins per §13.1 (which collapses to admins for unclaimed
+    # owners/admins per §13.1.
-    # entries since `owners` is empty).
     # -------------------------------------------------------------------
 
     @router.post("/api/rfcs/{slug}/claim")
     async def claim_ownership(slug: str, request: Request) -> dict[str, Any]:
         viewer = auth.require_contributor(request)
         rfc = _require_super_draft(slug)
-        # Refuse if the actor is already in owners — no-op claim.
         existing_owners = json.loads(rfc["owners_json"] or "[]")
         if viewer.gitea_login in existing_owners:
             return {"ok": True, "noop": True}
-        # Refuse if a claim PR for this actor is already open. The branch
-        # name `claim/<slug>` collides per actor implicitly since Gitea
-        # refuses duplicate branch creation; we surface a clean 409 here
-        # so the client doesn't see a 502.
         already = db.conn().execute(
             """
             SELECT pr_number FROM cached_prs
@@ -581,8 +455,6 @@ def make_router(
         if already:
             raise HTTPException(409, f"A claim PR is already open: #{already['pr_number']}")
 
-        # Compose the new entry contents — owners list with the claimant
-        # appended.
         fetched = await gitea.read_file(
             config.gitea_org, config.meta_repo, f"rfcs/{slug}.md", ref="main",
         )
@@ -626,7 +498,7 @@ def make_router(
 
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Orchestrator
+# Orchestrator — the §13.3 in-place flip
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
@@ -637,57 +509,21 @@ async def _orchestrate(
     bot: Bot,
     actor: Actor,
     state: GraduationState,
-    super_draft_body: str,
-    super_draft_title: str,
-    super_draft_tags: list[str],
     graduated_contents: str,
     meta_file_sha: str,
 ) -> None:
-    """Run §13.3 step by step. Each step:
+    """Open the flip PR, then merge it. Two steps, no transaction:
 
-      - marks itself `running` and pushes an event
+      - open_pr fails  → nothing was created; the entry stays a super-draft.
-      - calls the bot method (which writes to Gitea + audit log)
+      - merge_pr fails → close the open PR and delete its branch (the only
-      - marks itself `done` (or `failed`) and pushes another event
+        artifact a mid-flip failure can leave on the meta repo), then the
+        entry stays a super-draft.
 
-    On failure at step N, every later step is marked `not-reached` and
+    There is no rollback of a *merged* flip — once the meta-repo merge has
-    `_rollback` runs undoes in reverse from N-1 to 1.
+    landed, the path forward is §3's `withdraw` (§13.5).
     """
     try:
-        # ----- Step 1: create per-RFC repo -----
+        # ----- Step 1: open the graduation PR (flip frontmatter) -----
-        await _start(state, "create_repo", f"Creating `{state.repo_full}`…")
-        try:
-            await bot.create_rfc_repo_for_graduation(
-                actor, org=config.gitea_org, repo_name=state.repo_name,
-                slug=state.slug, title=super_draft_title,
-            )
-        except GiteaError as e:
-            await _fail(state, "create_repo", f"Gitea: {e.detail}")
-            await _rollback(config=config, gitea=gitea, bot=bot, actor=actor,
-                            state=state, failed_at="create_repo")
-            return
-        await _done(state, "create_repo", state.repo_full)
-
-        # ----- Step 2: seed RFC.md, README.md, .rfc/metadata.yaml -----
-        await _start(state, "seed_files", "Writing initial commit on main…")
-        try:
-            await bot.seed_graduated_rfc(
-                actor,
-                org=config.gitea_org, repo_name=state.repo_name,
-                slug=state.slug, title=super_draft_title,
-                rfc_body=super_draft_body, rfc_id=state.rfc_id,
-                meta_full=config.meta_repo_full,
-                meta_path=f"rfcs/{state.slug}.md",
-                owners=state.owners, arbiters=state.arbiters,
-                tags=super_draft_tags,
-            )
-        except GiteaError as e:
-            await _fail(state, "seed_files", f"Gitea: {e.detail}")
-            await _rollback(config=config, gitea=gitea, bot=bot, actor=actor,
-                            state=state, failed_at="seed_files")
-            return
-        await _done(state, "seed_files", "RFC.md, README.md, .rfc/metadata.yaml")
-
-        # ----- Step 3: open graduation PR -----
         await _start(state, "open_pr", "Opening graduation PR…")
         try:
             pr = await bot.open_graduation_pr(
@@ -696,19 +532,18 @@ async def _orchestrate(
                 slug=state.slug,
                 new_file_contents=graduated_contents,
                 prior_sha=meta_file_sha,
-                rfc_id=state.rfc_id, repo_full=state.repo_full,
+                rfc_id=state.rfc_id,
                 owners=state.owners,
             )
         except GiteaError as e:
             await _fail(state, "open_pr", f"Gitea: {e.detail}")
-            await _rollback(config=config, gitea=gitea, bot=bot, actor=actor,
+            await _finish_failed(state, failed_at="open_pr", on_behalf_of=actor.gitea_login)
-                            state=state, failed_at="open_pr")
             return
         state.new_pr_number = pr["number"]
         state.graduation_branch = pr["head"]["ref"]
         await _done(state, "open_pr", f"PR #{state.new_pr_number}")
 
-        # ----- Step 4: merge the graduation PR -----
+        # ----- Step 2: merge the graduation PR -----
         await _start(state, "merge_pr", f"Merging PR #{state.new_pr_number}…")
         try:
             await bot.merge_graduation_pr(
@@ -720,35 +555,28 @@ async def _orchestrate(
             )
         except GiteaError as e:
             await _fail(state, "merge_pr", f"Gitea: {e.detail}")
-            await _rollback(config=config, gitea=gitea, bot=bot, actor=actor,
+            await _cleanup_unmerged(config=config, bot=bot, actor=actor, state=state)
-                            state=state, failed_at="merge_pr")
+            await _finish_failed(state, failed_at="merge_pr", on_behalf_of=actor.gitea_login)
             return
         await _done(state, "merge_pr", f"PR #{state.new_pr_number} merged")
 
-        # ----- Step 5: refresh the cache so the catalog flips immediately.
+        # Refresh the cache so the catalog flips immediately. The webhook
-        # Per §13.3 step 5 the webhook flow is the steady-state path, but
+        # flow is the steady-state path (§13.3); we refresh inline so the
-        # we refresh inline so the dialog can transition to "graduation
+        # dialog can transition to "graduation complete" with the catalog
-        # complete" with the catalog row already showing `active`. A
+        # row already showing `active`. A refresh failure does not unwind
-        # cache-refresh failure does not unwind Git state — the
+        # the merge — the reconciler catches up per §4.1.
-        # reconciler will catch up per §4.1.
-        await _start(state, "refresh_cache", "Refreshing catalog and views…")
         try:
             await cache.refresh_meta_repo(config, gitea)
             await cache.refresh_meta_branches(config, gitea)
             await cache.refresh_meta_pulls(config, gitea)
-            await cache.refresh_rfc_repo(config, gitea, state.slug)
         except Exception as e:
-            log.warning("graduate refresh_cache failed for %s: %s", state.slug, e)
+            log.warning("graduate cache refresh failed for %s: %s", state.slug, e)
-            await _done(state, "refresh_cache", f"Cache will catch up via reconciler ({e})")
-        else:
-            await _done(state, "refresh_cache", "Catalog and main view updated")
 
-        # Terminal success row in the audit log.
         _audit(
             None, actor.gitea_login, "graduate_complete",
             rfc_slug=state.slug,
             details={
-                "rfc_id": state.rfc_id, "repo": state.repo_full,
+                "rfc_id": state.rfc_id,
                 "owners": state.owners, "pr_number": state.new_pr_number,
             },
         )
@@ -757,109 +585,38 @@ async def _orchestrate(
         await state.queue.put({"event": "completed", "payload": state.to_payload()})
     except Exception as e:
         log.exception("graduate: unexpected error for %s", state.slug)
-        # Best-effort: mark the in-flight step failed, then roll back.
         running = next((s for s in state.steps if s.status == "running"), None)
         if running is not None:
             await _fail(state, running.key, f"unexpected: {e}")
-        await _rollback(
+        await _finish_failed(
-            config=config, gitea=gitea, bot=bot, actor=actor,
+            state, failed_at=running.key if running else "unknown",
-            state=state, failed_at=running.key if running else "unknown",
+            on_behalf_of=actor.gitea_login,
         )
     finally:
         # Push the sentinel so any open SSE handler returns.
         await state.queue.put(None)
 
 
-async def _rollback(
+async def _cleanup_unmerged(
-    *,
+    *, config: Config, bot: Bot, actor: Actor, state: GraduationState,
-    config: Config, gitea: Gitea, bot: Bot, actor: Actor,
-    state: GraduationState, failed_at: str,
 ) -> None:
-    """Run undoes in reverse order from the last completed step. Each
+    """A merge failure leaves the flip PR open on its `graduate-<slug>-<hex>`
-    undo emits its own rollback-step event so the dialog can render the
+    branch. Close the PR and delete the branch so failed attempts don't
-    cleanup as a visible step appended to the stack per §13.3."""
+    accumulate on the meta repo. Best-effort — failures here are logged,
-    state.rollback_started = True
+    not surfaced as a separate step (the entry already stays a super-draft).
-    # Mark every step after the failed one as not-reached so the rendered
+    """
-    # stack is honest about what didn't run.
-    seen_failure = False
-    for s in state.steps:
-        if s.status == "failed":
-            seen_failure = True
-            continue
-        if seen_failure and s.status == "pending":
-            s.status = "not-reached"
-
-    # Walk completed steps in reverse and run their inverses.
-    for s in reversed(state.steps):
-        if s.status != "done":
-            continue
-        undo = _UNDO_BY_STEP.get(s.key)
-        if undo is None:
-            continue
-        rb = StepState(key=f"undo:{s.key}", label=f"Undo: {s.label}",
-                       status="running", detail="")
-        state.rollback_steps.append(rb)
-        await state.queue.put({"event": "rollback_step", "payload": state.to_payload()})
-        try:
-            detail = await undo(
-                config=config, gitea=gitea, bot=bot, actor=actor, state=state,
-            )
-        except Exception as e:
-            rb.status = "failed"
-            rb.detail = f"{e}"
-            await state.queue.put({"event": "rollback_step", "payload": state.to_payload()})
-            continue
-        rb.status = "done"
-        rb.detail = detail or ""
-        await state.queue.put({"event": "rollback_step", "payload": state.to_payload()})
-
-    _audit(
-        None, actor.gitea_login, "graduate_rollback",
-        rfc_slug=state.slug,
-        details={
-            "failed_at": failed_at,
-            "error": state.error,
-            "rfc_id": state.rfc_id,
-            "repo": state.repo_full,
-            "undone": [s.key for s in state.rollback_steps if s.status == "done"],
-        },
-    )
-    state.finished = True
-    state.succeeded = False
-    await state.queue.put({"event": "rolled_back", "payload": state.to_payload()})
-
-
-async def _undo_create_repo(*, config, gitea, bot, actor, state) -> str:
-    await bot.delete_rfc_repo(
-        actor, org=config.gitea_org, repo_name=state.repo_name,
-        slug=state.slug, reason="graduation rollback",
-    )
-    return f"Deleted `{state.repo_full}`"
-
-
-async def _undo_seed_files(*, config, gitea, bot, actor, state) -> str:
-    # The seed commits live inside the per-RFC repo created in step 1;
-    # deleting the repo (step 1's undo) reclaims them at the same time.
-    # We surface a separate rollback step here so the rendered stack
-    # mirrors the forward steps, but the work is folded into _undo_create_repo.
-    return "Folded into repo deletion"
-
-
-async def _undo_open_pr(*, config, gitea, bot, actor, state) -> str:
     if state.new_pr_number is None:
-        return "No PR opened"
+        return
-    await bot.close_graduation_pr(
+    try:
-        actor,
+        await bot.close_graduation_pr(
-        org=config.gitea_org, meta_repo=config.meta_repo,
+            actor,
-        pr_number=state.new_pr_number,
+            org=config.gitea_org, meta_repo=config.meta_repo,
-        head_branch=state.graduation_branch or "",
+            pr_number=state.new_pr_number,
-        slug=state.slug, reason="graduation rollback",
+            head_branch=state.graduation_branch or "",
-    )
+            slug=state.slug, reason="graduation merge failed",
-    # Per the §19.2 "graduation rollback's branch cleanup" candidate
+        )
-    # that Slice 8 settles: delete the dash-suffixed branch on rollback
+    except Exception:
-    # so failed-graduation branches don't accumulate on the meta repo.
+        log.exception("graduate cleanup: close PR #%s failed", state.new_pr_number)
-    # The §12 hygiene sweep would catch this eventually, but closing
-    # the loop here removes the chance of pile-up across retries.
     branch_name = state.graduation_branch or ""
     if branch_name:
         try:
@@ -870,24 +627,35 @@ async def _undo_open_pr(*, config, gitea, bot, actor, state) -> str:
                 branch=branch_name,
                 slug=state.slug,
                 action_kind="delete_post_merge_branch",
-                reason="graduation rollback",
+                reason="graduation merge failed",
             )
         except Exception:
-            log.exception("rollback: delete_branch failed for %s", branch_name)
+            log.exception("graduate cleanup: delete_branch %s failed", branch_name)
-    return f"Closed PR #{state.new_pr_number}"
 
 
-# merge_pr's undo is intentionally absent — once the meta-repo merge has
+async def _finish_failed(state: GraduationState, *, failed_at: str, on_behalf_of: str) -> None:
-# landed, graduation is irreversible per §13.5. If we ever reach a merged
+    """Mark any step after the failure as not-reached, write the audit
-# state and a later step fails (which can't happen — refresh_cache failures
+    row, and emit the terminal failed event."""
-# fold into success), there is no clean undo path; the user transitions
+    seen_failure = False
-# via §3's `withdraw` instead.
+    for s in state.steps:
-
+        if s.status == "failed":
-_UNDO_BY_STEP = {
+            seen_failure = True
-    "create_repo": _undo_create_repo,
+            continue
-    "seed_files": _undo_seed_files,
+        if seen_failure and s.status == "pending":
-    "open_pr": _undo_open_pr,
+            s.status = "not-reached"
-}
+    _audit(
+        None, on_behalf_of, "graduate_failed",
+        rfc_slug=state.slug,
+        details={
+            "failed_at": failed_at,
+            "error": state.error,
+            "rfc_id": state.rfc_id,
+            "pr_number": state.new_pr_number,
+        },
+    )
+    state.finished = True
+    state.succeeded = False
+    await state.queue.put({"event": "failed", "payload": state.to_payload()})
 
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -907,7 +675,7 @@ def _can_graduate(rfc, viewer) -> bool:
 
 def _audit(
     actor_user_id: int | None,
-    on_behalf_of: str,
+    on_behalf_of: str | None,
     action_kind: str,
     *,
     rfc_slug: str | None = None,
@@ -918,7 +686,7 @@ def _audit(
     """Direct audit-log write for graduation lifecycle events that don't
     correspond to a single Gitea write. The per-step Gitea writes log
     themselves via the bot's `_log`; this is for the bracketing
-    `graduate_start` / `graduate_complete` / `graduate_rollback` rows."""
+    `graduate_start` / `graduate_complete` / `graduate_failed` rows."""
     db.conn().execute(
         """
         INSERT INTO actions
@@ -935,8 +703,7 @@ def _audit(
             json.dumps(details) if details else None,
         ),
     )
-    # §15 chokepoint per Slice 6: the bracket rows (graduate_start,
+    # §15 chokepoint: the bracket rows drive their own notifications.
-    # graduate_complete) drive their own notifications per §15.1.
     from . import notify
     notify.fan_out_from_action(
         actor_user_id=actor_user_id,

backend/app/api_invitations.py

@@ -133,69 +133,15 @@ def make_router() -> APIRouter:
                 "Only the RFC's owner can invite collaborators",
             )
 
-        invitee_email = body.invitee_email.strip()
+        return issue_invitation(
-        role_in_rfc = body.role_in_rfc
+            slug=slug,
-
+            inviter_user_id=viewer.user_id,
-        # Refuse re-inviting an email that already has a pending
-        # invitation on this RFC at the same role. Different-role
-        # re-invite is allowed (upgrade discussant → contributor)
-        # — the new row supersedes the old in the UI listing's
-        # natural ordering, and acceptance of either picks up the
-        # corresponding role.
-        existing = db.conn().execute(
-            """
-            SELECT id FROM rfc_invitations
-             WHERE rfc_slug = ? AND invitee_email = ? COLLATE NOCASE
-               AND role_in_rfc = ? AND status = 'pending'
-             LIMIT 1
-            """,
-            (slug, invitee_email, role_in_rfc),
-        ).fetchone()
-        if existing:
-            raise HTTPException(
-                409,
-                f"{invitee_email} already has a pending {role_in_rfc} invitation for this RFC",
-            )
-
-        token = _mint_token()
-        cur = db.conn().execute(
-            """
-            INSERT INTO rfc_invitations
-                (rfc_slug, inviter_user_id, invitee_email, role_in_rfc,
-                 token, expires_at)
-            VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, datetime('now', ?))
-            """,
-            (
-                slug,
-                viewer.user_id,
-                invitee_email,
-                role_in_rfc,
-                token,
-                f"+{INVITATION_TTL_DAYS} days",
-            ),
-        )
-        invitation_id = cur.lastrowid
-
-        # Send the email — synchronous. A send failure logs and
-        # returns; the row stays so the owner can recover via the
-        # listing (which carries the token for an out-of-band share).
-        _send_invitation_email(
-            to_address=invitee_email,
             inviter_display=viewer.display_name or viewer.gitea_login or "An RFC owner",
+            invitee_email=body.invitee_email,
+            role_in_rfc=body.role_in_rfc,
             rfc_title=rfc["title"],
-            role_in_rfc=role_in_rfc,
-            token=token,
         )
 
-        return {
-            "id": invitation_id,
-            "rfc_slug": slug,
-            "invitee_email": invitee_email,
-            "role_in_rfc": role_in_rfc,
-            "status": "pending",
-            "token": token,
-        }
-
     # ---------------------------------------------------------------
     # GET /api/rfcs/<slug>/invitations
     # The owner's listing of every invitation on the RFC, regardless
@@ -473,6 +419,78 @@ def _effective_status(row) -> str:
     return "expired" if is_past else "pending"
 
 
+def issue_invitation(
+    *,
+    slug: str,
+    inviter_user_id: int,
+    inviter_display: str,
+    invitee_email: str,
+    role_in_rfc: str,
+    rfc_title: str,
+) -> dict:
+    """Mint + persist + email one ``rfc_invitations`` row.
+
+    The single chokepoint for issuing an invitation: the owner's manual
+    `POST /api/rfcs/{slug}/invitations` endpoint and roadmap #28 Part 3's
+    accept path both route through here, so the dup-guard, token mint,
+    insert, and transactional email stay identical.
+
+    Refuses (409) re-inviting an email that already has a pending
+    invitation on this RFC at the same role. A different-role re-invite is
+    allowed (the discussant → contributor upgrade) — the new row
+    supersedes the old in the listing's natural ordering, and acceptance
+    of either picks up the corresponding role.
+
+    Returns the new row's dict (including the raw token, for the owner's
+    out-of-band share / the caller's record-keeping). A send failure logs
+    and returns; the row stays so the owner can recover via the listing.
+    """
+    invitee_email = invitee_email.strip()
+    existing = db.conn().execute(
+        """
+        SELECT id FROM rfc_invitations
+         WHERE rfc_slug = ? AND invitee_email = ? COLLATE NOCASE
+           AND role_in_rfc = ? AND status = 'pending'
+         LIMIT 1
+        """,
+        (slug, invitee_email, role_in_rfc),
+    ).fetchone()
+    if existing:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            409,
+            f"{invitee_email} already has a pending {role_in_rfc} invitation for this RFC",
+        )
+
+    token = _mint_token()
+    cur = db.conn().execute(
+        """
+        INSERT INTO rfc_invitations
+            (rfc_slug, inviter_user_id, invitee_email, role_in_rfc,
+             token, expires_at)
+        VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, datetime('now', ?))
+        """,
+        (slug, inviter_user_id, invitee_email, role_in_rfc, token, f"+{INVITATION_TTL_DAYS} days"),
+    )
+    invitation_id = cur.lastrowid
+
+    _send_invitation_email(
+        to_address=invitee_email,
+        inviter_display=inviter_display,
+        rfc_title=rfc_title,
+        role_in_rfc=role_in_rfc,
+        token=token,
+    )
+
+    return {
+        "id": invitation_id,
+        "rfc_slug": slug,
+        "invitee_email": invitee_email,
+        "role_in_rfc": role_in_rfc,
+        "status": "pending",
+        "token": token,
+    }
+
+
 def _mint_token() -> str:
     """A 256-bit URL-safe token. The token shape is opaque to the
     consumer; the email link encodes it as a query param."""

backend/app/api_prs.py

@@ -603,7 +603,7 @@ def make_router(
             repo=repo,
             slug=slug,
             file_path=_file_path_for(rfc),
-            is_super_draft=_is_super_draft(rfc),
+            is_super_draft=_is_meta_resident(rfc),
             original_branch=original_branch,
             resolution_branch=resolution_branch,
         )
@@ -671,32 +671,36 @@ def make_router(
         """Used by the §10 PR-flow read and write paths. Per §17's routing-
         collapse rule, a super-draft RFC also routes here — its body-edit
         PRs are meta-repo PRs with pr_kind='meta_body_edit', but the API
-        surface is identical."""
+        surface is identical. Under the meta-only topology (§1) an active
+        RFC is meta-resident too (repo is null) — that is normal, not an
+        error, so there is no per-RFC-repo precondition."""
         row = _require_rfc(slug)
         if row["state"] not in ("active", "super-draft"):
             raise HTTPException(409, f"RFC is {row['state']}")
-        if row["state"] == "active" and not row["repo"]:
-            raise HTTPException(409, "RFC has no repo")
         return row
 
-    def _is_super_draft(rfc) -> bool:
+    def _is_meta_resident(rfc) -> bool:
-        return rfc["state"] == "super-draft"
+        """Meta-only topology (§1): an entry lives in the meta repo's
+        `rfcs/<slug>.md` (super-draft or active-in-place) unless it carries
+        a legacy per-RFC `repo:` — which nothing does after the RFC-0001
+        fold-back (§13.6). Drives the body/path/repo dispatch below."""
+        return not rfc["repo"]
 
     def _owner_repo(rfc) -> tuple[str, str]:
-        if _is_super_draft(rfc):
+        if _is_meta_resident(rfc):
             return config.gitea_org, config.meta_repo
         owner, repo = rfc["repo"].split("/", 1)
         return owner, repo
 
     def _file_path_for(rfc) -> str:
-        if _is_super_draft(rfc):
+        if _is_meta_resident(rfc):
             return f"rfcs/{rfc['slug']}.md"
         return RFC_FILE_PATH
 
     def _extract_body(rfc, file_contents: str) -> str:
-        """For super-draft entries the file on disk is the full
+        """For meta-resident entries the file on disk is the full
         frontmatter+body envelope; the editable body is entry.body."""
-        if not _is_super_draft(rfc):
+        if not _is_meta_resident(rfc):
             return file_contents
         try:
             entry = entry_mod.parse(file_contents)
@@ -760,7 +764,7 @@ def make_router(
         return row["original_pr_number"] if row else None
 
     async def _refresh_after_pr_write(rfc) -> None:
-        if _is_super_draft(rfc):
+        if _is_meta_resident(rfc):
             await cache.refresh_meta_repo(config, gitea)
             await cache.refresh_meta_branches(config, gitea)
             await cache.refresh_meta_pulls(config, gitea)

backend/app/bot.py

@@ -695,111 +695,7 @@ class Bot:
         )
         return sha
 
-    # ----- §13 graduation: per-step primitives and rollback inverses -----
+    # ----- §13 graduation (meta-only): open + merge the flip PR -----
-
-    async def create_rfc_repo_for_graduation(
-        self,
-        actor: Actor,
-        *,
-        org: str,
-        repo_name: str,
-        slug: str,
-        title: str,
-    ) -> dict:
-        """§13.3 step 1: create the per-RFC repo.
-
-        Empty repo (no auto-init) — `seed_graduated_rfc` writes the first
-        commit on `main`. Returns the Gitea repo payload."""
-        repo = await self._gitea.create_org_repo(
-            org, repo_name, description=f"RFC: {title}"
-        )
-        _log(
-            actor,
-            "graduate_repo_create",
-            rfc_slug=slug,
-            details={"repo": f"{org}/{repo_name}", "title": title},
-        )
-        return repo
-
-    async def seed_graduated_rfc(
-        self,
-        actor: Actor,
-        *,
-        org: str,
-        repo_name: str,
-        slug: str,
-        title: str,
-        rfc_body: str,
-        rfc_id: str,
-        meta_full: str,
-        meta_path: str,
-        owners: list[str],
-        arbiters: list[str],
-        tags: list[str],
-    ) -> str:
-        """§13.3 step 2: seed RFC.md, README.md, .rfc/metadata.yaml on the
-        new repo's `main`. Three create_file calls; one audit row.
-
-        Returns the final commit sha on main.
-        """
-        import yaml as _yaml
-
-        ae = actor.email or f"{actor.gitea_login}@users.noreply"
-        # 2a) RFC.md — the document. The super-draft's body is migrated
-        # verbatim per §13.3; if the body is empty we seed a minimal
-        # placeholder so the editor has something to render on first open.
-        body = rfc_body.strip() + "\n" if rfc_body.strip() else (
-            f"# {title}\n\n*RFC.md to be filled in — the super-draft graduated with an empty body.*\n"
-        )
-        rfc_msg = _stamp_single(f"Seed RFC.md from super-draft {slug}", actor)
-        rfc_result = await self._gitea.create_file(
-            org, repo_name, "RFC.md",
-            content=body, message=rfc_msg, branch="main",
-            author_name=actor.display_name, author_email=ae,
-        )
-        # 2b) README.md — header pointing back at the meta-repo entry.
-        readme = (
-            f"# {rfc_id} — {title}\n\n"
-            f"This repository carries the canonical text of {rfc_id}.\n"
-            f"The meta-repo entry is `{meta_path}` in `{meta_full}`.\n\n"
-            f"The RFC body is in `RFC.md`. Contributions go through the\n"
-            f"app's §8 RFC view — open a branch, propose changes, land a PR.\n"
-        )
-        readme_msg = _stamp_single(f"Seed README.md for {rfc_id}", actor)
-        await self._gitea.create_file(
-            org, repo_name, "README.md",
-            content=readme, message=readme_msg, branch="main",
-            author_name=actor.display_name, author_email=ae,
-        )
-        # 2c) .rfc/metadata.yaml — mirror of meta-repo frontmatter for
-        # future tooling (linting, automation, CI lookups).
-        meta_yaml = _yaml.safe_dump(
-            {
-                "slug": slug, "title": title, "id": rfc_id,
-                "owners": owners, "arbiters": arbiters, "tags": list(tags),
-            },
-            sort_keys=False,
-        )
-        meta_msg = _stamp_single(f"Seed .rfc/metadata.yaml for {rfc_id}", actor)
-        meta_result = await self._gitea.create_file(
-            org, repo_name, ".rfc/metadata.yaml",
-            content=meta_yaml, message=meta_msg, branch="main",
-            author_name=actor.display_name, author_email=ae,
-        )
-        last_sha = (
-            meta_result.get("commit", {}).get("sha")
-            or rfc_result.get("commit", {}).get("sha")
-            or ""
-        )
-        _log(
-            actor,
-            "graduate_repo_seed",
-            rfc_slug=slug,
-            branch_name="main",
-            bot_commit_sha=last_sha,
-            details={"repo": f"{org}/{repo_name}", "rfc_id": rfc_id},
-        )
-        return last_sha
 
     async def open_graduation_pr(
         self,
@@ -811,13 +707,14 @@ class Bot:
         new_file_contents: str,
         prior_sha: str,
         rfc_id: str,
-        repo_full: str,
         owners: list[str],
     ) -> dict:
-        """§13.3 step 3: open a PR against the meta repo that strips the
+        """§13.3 (meta-only): open a PR against the meta repo that flips the
-        super-draft body and fills graduation frontmatter fields. Branch
+        entry's frontmatter to `state: active` with the integer `id` and
-        name uses the `graduate-<slug>-<6hex>` shape — dash-separated like
+        graduation stamps — **keeping the body unchanged** (§1 meta-only
-        the other meta-repo branches per the §19.2 path-routing candidate.
+        topology; no repo is created and no body is stripped). Branch name
+        uses the `graduate-<slug>-<6hex>` shape — dash-separated like the
+        other meta-repo branches per the §19.2 path-routing candidate.
         """
         import secrets
 
@@ -844,11 +741,11 @@ class Bot:
         pr_body_text = (
             f"Graduates super-draft `{slug}` to active.\n\n"
             f"- ID: `{rfc_id}`\n"
-            f"- Repo: `{repo_full}`\n"
             f"- Owners: {owners_str}\n\n"
-            f"The meta-repo entry becomes frontmatter-only; the canonical body\n"
+            f"This is an in-place state flip per the meta-only topology\n"
-            f"moves to `RFC.md` in the new repo. The graduation sequence is\n"
+            f"(SPEC §1, §13.3): the entry `rfcs/{slug}.md` keeps its body and\n"
-            f"transactional per §13.3."
+            f"stays in the meta repo. Only the frontmatter changes — `state`,\n"
+            f"`id`, and the graduation stamps."
         )
         _subject, pr_body = _stamp("", pr_body_text, actor)
         pr = await self._gitea.create_pull(
@@ -862,7 +759,7 @@ class Bot:
             branch_name=branch,
             pr_number=pr["number"],
             bot_commit_sha=commit_sha,
-            details={"pr_title": pr_title, "rfc_id": rfc_id, "repo": repo_full},
+            details={"pr_title": pr_title, "rfc_id": rfc_id},
         )
         return pr
 
@@ -912,27 +809,7 @@ class Bot:
             details={"rfc_id": rfc_id},
         )
 
-    # ----- §13.3 rollback inverses -----
+    # ----- §13.3 (meta-only): cleanup of an unmerged flip PR -----
-
-    async def delete_rfc_repo(
-        self,
-        actor: Actor,
-        *,
-        org: str,
-        repo_name: str,
-        slug: str,
-        reason: str,
-    ) -> None:
-        """Undo of `create_rfc_repo_for_graduation`. Records `graduate_repo_delete`
-        in the audit log with the rollback reason so the §13.3 stack's
-        rendered failure surface can be reconstructed from `actions`."""
-        await self._gitea.delete_repo(org, repo_name)
-        _log(
-            actor,
-            "graduate_repo_delete",
-            rfc_slug=slug,
-            details={"repo": f"{org}/{repo_name}", "reason": reason},
-        )
 
     async def close_graduation_pr(
         self,

backend/app/cache.py

@@ -219,6 +219,19 @@ async def refresh_rfc_repo(config: Config, gitea: Gitea, slug: str) -> None:
         open_pulls, closed_pulls = [], []
     for pull in open_pulls + closed_pulls:
         head_branch = pull.get("head", {}).get("ref", "")
+        # Same deleted-branch recovery as refresh_meta_pulls: a merged-and-
+        # deleted PR's `head.ref` collapses to `refs/pull/<N>/head`. Here
+        # the slug is known (param), so state still updates correctly and
+        # no ghost forms — but blindly storing the sentinel would clobber
+        # the real branch name api_prs.py relies on as a fallback ref when
+        # the merge commit is gone. Recover it from the stored row.
+        if not head_branch or head_branch.startswith("refs/pull/"):
+            prior = db.conn().execute(
+                "SELECT head_branch FROM cached_prs WHERE repo = ? AND pr_number = ?",
+                (repo_full, pull["number"]),
+            ).fetchone()
+            if prior and prior["head_branch"]:
+                head_branch = prior["head_branch"]
         state = _state_from_pull(pull)
         gitea_opener = (pull.get("user") or {}).get("login") or ""
         opened_by = _resolve_actor(
@@ -329,9 +342,13 @@ async def refresh_meta_branches(config: Config, gitea: Gitea) -> None:
         if not slug:
             continue
         rfc = db.conn().execute(
-            "SELECT state FROM cached_rfcs WHERE slug = ?", (slug,)
+            "SELECT state, repo FROM cached_rfcs WHERE slug = ?", (slug,)
         ).fetchone()
-        if not rfc or rfc["state"] != "super-draft":
+        # Meta-only topology (§1): edit branches live on the meta repo for
+        # every meta-resident entry — super-drafts and active RFCs alike
+        # (active RFCs are graduated in place and keep editing here, §13).
+        # A legacy per-RFC repo (repo set) is the only thing excluded.
+        if not rfc or rfc["repo"] or rfc["state"] not in ("super-draft", "active"):
             continue
         edit_keys_seen.add((slug, name))
         db.conn().execute(
@@ -352,7 +369,8 @@ async def refresh_meta_branches(config: Config, gitea: Gitea) -> None:
     # diverges from this single point.
     if meta_main_sha:
         super_drafts = db.conn().execute(
-            "SELECT slug FROM cached_rfcs WHERE state = 'super-draft'"
+            "SELECT slug FROM cached_rfcs "
+            "WHERE repo IS NULL AND state IN ('super-draft', 'active')"
         ).fetchall()
         for r in super_drafts:
             db.conn().execute(
@@ -374,7 +392,8 @@ async def refresh_meta_branches(config: Config, gitea: Gitea) -> None:
         SELECT b.rfc_slug, b.branch_name
           FROM cached_branches b
           JOIN cached_rfcs r ON r.slug = b.rfc_slug
-         WHERE r.state = 'super-draft'
+         WHERE r.repo IS NULL
+           AND r.state IN ('super-draft', 'active')
            AND b.state != 'deleted'
            AND b.branch_name != 'main'
         """
@@ -431,6 +450,25 @@ async def refresh_meta_pulls(config: Config, gitea: Gitea) -> None:
 
     for pull in open_pulls + closed_pulls:
         head_branch = pull.get("head", {}).get("ref", "")
+        # A merged-and-deleted PR's branch is no longer reported by Gitea
+        # as its real name — the `head.ref` collapses to the synthetic
+        # `refs/pull/<N>/head` sentinel (or empty). The slug + kind both
+        # derive from the branch name, so a deleted branch would parse to
+        # slug=None and the row would be skipped forever, freezing the
+        # cached_prs row at its last-seen `state='open'` — a permanent
+        # ghost "pending idea" for an entry that has actually merged
+        # (caught when the operator authoring lane in ROADMAP #35 merged
+        # an idea PR with the branch deleted; the web UX leaves branches
+        # in place so it never tripped this). Recover the original branch
+        # from the row we already stored when the PR was open — that row
+        # retains the real `head_branch` (migration 002).
+        if not head_branch or head_branch.startswith("refs/pull/"):
+            prior = db.conn().execute(
+                "SELECT head_branch FROM cached_prs WHERE repo = ? AND pr_number = ?",
+                (repo_full, pull["number"]),
+            ).fetchone()
+            if prior and prior["head_branch"]:
+                head_branch = prior["head_branch"]
         slug = _slug_from_head_branch(head_branch)
         if slug is None:
             continue

backend/app/email_envelope.py

@@ -60,12 +60,17 @@ def build_envelope(
     `from_name` is the display label that goes through `formataddr`
     so spaces / commas in the display string are encoded correctly.
 
-    `body_plain` is mandatory. `body_html`, if supplied, lands as the
+    `body_plain` is mandatory. `body_html` is **reserved and not yet
-    second part of a `multipart/alternative` body — mail clients
+    enabled** (security-audit-0026 I3): no send path supplies it today —
-    that prefer HTML render it; clients that don't fall back to the
+    every rfc-app mail is plain text — and passing it raises
-    plain part. The text/plain part comes first per RFC 2046, so a
+    `NotImplementedError`. The parameter is kept in the signature for
-    plain-text client that picks the first body gets the readable
+    documented future symmetry: when HTML mail is enabled it will land
-    text.
+    as the second part of a `multipart/alternative` body (text/plain
+    first per RFC 2046, so a plain-text client picking the first part
+    still gets the readable text). Enabling it is a deliberate act — the
+    caller MUST HTML-escape any user content into `body_html` first (cf.
+    the C1 stored-XSS class: a mail client renders the HTML) and remove
+    the guard below in the same change.
 
     `reply_to`, when set, lets a send path point replies at a
     different mailbox than the From line (e.g., a watcher
@@ -131,13 +136,20 @@ def build_envelope(
             # idempotent and not require auth. See
             # `api_notifications.py` for the receiver.
             msg["List-Unsubscribe-Post"] = "List-Unsubscribe=One-Click"
-    if body_html:
+    if body_html is not None:
-        # multipart/alternative: text/plain first, text/html second.
+        # I3 (security-audit-0026): the multipart/alternative HTML path
-        # `set_content` sets the first part (and the message's main
+        # is intentionally NOT enabled. No send path passes `body_html`
-        # body); `add_alternative` adds the second part and
+        # today, and emitting an HTML body built from user-supplied
-        # restructures the message as multipart/alternative.
+        # content without escaping it first would reintroduce the C1
-        msg.set_content(body_plain)
+        # stored-XSS class in the mail channel (the recipient's client
-        msg.add_alternative(body_html, subtype="html")
+        # renders the HTML). Fail loudly here rather than silently
-    else:
+        # shipping HTML: enabling HTML mail is a deliberate change that
-        msg.set_content(body_plain)
+        # MUST HTML-escape user content at the call site and remove this
+        # guard together. The text/plain path below is the only live one.
+        raise NotImplementedError(
+            "HTML email is not enabled (security-audit-0026 I3): do not "
+            "pass body_html until user content is HTML-escaped at the "
+            "call site and this guard is intentionally removed."
+        )
+    msg.set_content(body_plain)
     return msg

backend/app/hygiene.py

@@ -284,9 +284,10 @@ async def _delete_branch_via_bot(
     reason: str,
 ) -> bool:
     """Call `bot.delete_branch` with the system actor. Resolves the
-    `(org, repo)` pair from the slug: super-draft edit branches and
+    `(org, repo)` pair from the slug: under the meta-only topology (§1)
-    graduation branches live on the meta repo; active-RFC branches
+    every meta-resident entry's edit branches and graduation branches
-    live on the per-RFC repo named by `cached_rfcs.repo`.
+    live on the meta repo; a legacy per-RFC repo (a `repo:` that survives
+    from before the fold-back, §13.6) is named by `cached_rfcs.repo`.
 
     Returns True on a clean delete; False if the rfc row is missing
     (we leave the branch row in place — a subsequent reconciler sweep
@@ -297,12 +298,13 @@ async def _delete_branch_via_bot(
     if rfc is None:
         log.warning("hygiene: cannot delete %s/%s — slug missing from cache", slug, branch)
         return False
-    if rfc["state"] == "super-draft":
+    if not rfc["repo"]:
         owner, repo = config.gitea_org, config.meta_repo
-    elif rfc["state"] == "active" and rfc["repo"] and "/" in rfc["repo"]:
+    elif "/" in rfc["repo"]:
         owner, repo = rfc["repo"].split("/", 1)
     else:
-        log.warning("hygiene: cannot resolve repo for %s state=%s", slug, rfc["state"])
+        log.warning("hygiene: cannot resolve repo for %s state=%s repo=%r",
+                    slug, rfc["state"], rfc["repo"])
         return False
     try:
         await bot.delete_branch(

backend/app/main.py

@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ def _oauth_router(config) -> APIRouter:
         # secret AND TURNSTILE_REQUIRED=false (the default), the gate
         # opens — see `backend/app/turnstile.py` for the full matrix.
         client_ip = request.client.host if request.client else None
-        ts = turnstile.verify_token(body.turnstile_token, client_ip=client_ip)
+        ts = await turnstile.verify_token(body.turnstile_token, client_ip=client_ip)
         if not ts.ok:
             if ts.reason == "misconfigured":
                 # TURNSTILE_REQUIRED=true but the secret is unset. This

backend/app/notify.py

@@ -270,6 +270,86 @@ def fan_out_new_beta_request(
         )
 
 
+def fan_out_contribution_request(
+    *,
+    rfc_slug: str,
+    requester_user_id: int,
+    request_id: int,
+    matched_term: str,
+    who_i_am: str,
+    why: str,
+    use_case: str | None,
+) -> list[int]:
+    """Roadmap #28 Part 3: a reader asked to contribute to a pending
+    (super-draft) RFC. Land one actionable notification per owner and
+    return their ids (the caller stamps the first onto the request row as
+    the inbox-action handle).
+
+    Personal-direct: the owner is the named subject of the request, so the
+    §15.4 email gate consults `email_personal_direct` exactly as for the
+    other owner-facing personal events — no new preference column is
+    needed. The request's three free-text fields ride along in the payload
+    so the inbox row can show the full ask inline without a second fetch.
+    Actor is the requester per §15.9.
+    """
+    requester = db.conn().execute(
+        "SELECT display_name FROM users WHERE id = ?", (requester_user_id,)
+    ).fetchone()
+    display = (requester["display_name"] if requester else None) or "Someone"
+    details = {
+        "request_id": request_id,
+        "matched_term": matched_term,
+        "requester_user_id": requester_user_id,
+        "requester_display": display,
+        "who_i_am": who_i_am,
+        "why": why,
+        "use_case": use_case or "",
+    }
+    notif_ids: list[int] = []
+    for recipient_id in _entry_owner_user_ids(rfc_slug):
+        if recipient_id == requester_user_id:
+            continue
+        notif_ids.append(
+            _emit_one(
+                recipient_user_id=recipient_id,
+                event_kind="contribution_request_on_pending_rfc",
+                category=CATEGORY_PERSONAL,
+                actor_user_id=requester_user_id,
+                rfc_slug=rfc_slug,
+                branch_name=None,
+                pr_number=None,
+                details=details,
+            )
+        )
+    return notif_ids
+
+
+def notify_contribution_decided(
+    *,
+    rfc_slug: str,
+    requester_user_id: int,
+    decider_user_id: int,
+    request_id: int,
+    accepted: bool,
+) -> None:
+    """Roadmap #28 Part 3: tell the requester an owner accepted or declined
+    their contribute request. On accept the requester also receives the
+    #12 invitation email out-of-band; this inbox row is the in-app echo
+    that points them at it."""
+    _emit_one(
+        recipient_user_id=requester_user_id,
+        event_kind=(
+            "contribution_request_accepted" if accepted else "contribution_request_declined"
+        ),
+        category=CATEGORY_PERSONAL,
+        actor_user_id=decider_user_id,
+        rfc_slug=rfc_slug,
+        branch_name=None,
+        pr_number=None,
+        details={"request_id": request_id},
+    )
+
+
 def fan_out_chat_message(
     *,
     actor_user_id: int,
@@ -769,6 +849,16 @@ def render_summary(event_kind: str, actor_display: str | None, rfc_title: str |
         return f"{actor} began graduating {title}."
     if event_kind == "pr_conflict_with_main":
         return f"{actor} started a resolution branch on {title}."
+    if event_kind == "contribution_request_on_pending_rfc":
+        # Roadmap #28 Part 3: owner-facing, actionable. The term is the
+        # super-draft reference that surfaced the offer; the inbox row
+        # renders Accept/Decline beneath this line.
+        term = extras.get("matched_term") or title
+        return f"{actor} wants to contribute to your pending RFC for '{term}'."
+    if event_kind == "contribution_request_accepted":
+        return f"{actor} accepted your request to contribute to {title} — check your email to accept the invitation."
+    if event_kind == "contribution_request_declined":
+        return f"{actor} declined your request to contribute to {title}."
     if event_kind == "new_beta_request":
         # v0.9.0: framework-scoped, not RFC-scoped. The actor (the
         # requester) and the captured full name + email read as
@@ -884,6 +974,11 @@ def list_inbox(
             "read_at": row["read_at"],
             "category": extras.get("category"),
             "summary": render_summary(row["event_kind"], row["actor_display"], row["rfc_title"], extras),
+            # The row's payload, surfaced for kinds that render inline
+            # detail (e.g. #28 Part 3's contribute-request who/why/use-case
+            # + Accept/Decline). Safe to expose: a recipient only ever sees
+            # their own notifications.
+            "extras": extras,
         })
 
     if bundled:

backend/app/rfc_links.py

@@ -1,43 +1,95 @@
-"""Roadmap #28 Part 1 — auto-link RFC references in submitted prose.
+"""Roadmap #28 — scan submitted prose for RFC-shaped references.
 
-Scans plain-text PR descriptions and comment bodies for references to
+The scanner splits a plain-text PR description / comment body into a list
-existing **accepted** (state='active') RFCs and returns a structured list
 of *segments* the frontend renders: plain-text runs interleaved with
-``{"type": "rfc", ...}`` link segments. The backend never emits HTML —
+typed link segments. The backend never emits HTML — the frontend maps
-the frontend maps link segments onto React anchors — so the surface is
+each segment onto a React node — so the surface is XSS-safe by
-XSS-safe by construction and independent of any HTML-sanitization layer.
+construction and independent of any HTML-sanitization layer.
 
-**Read-time enrichment, not submit-time persistence.** The roadmap row
+Three buckets, one scan (Parts 1–3):
-phrases the scan as happening "at submit/post time"; this module instead
-enriches on read. The intent the roadmap actually names — "not as live
-compose preview" — is honored (drafts are never scanned, only submitted
-content on the read paths). Read-time was chosen for three reasons:
 
-  1. Correctness — links track the *live* active-RFC set. A newly-accepted
+  * ``{"type": "rfc", ...}``          — Part 1. The term matches an
-     RFC starts linking in older comments; a withdrawn RFC stops linking
+    **accepted** (``state='active'``) RFC; renders as a link to it.
-     everywhere. Submit-time freezing would drift stale.
+  * ``{"type": "rfc-pending", ...}``  — Part 3. The term matches a
-  2. Zero migration — no derived data to store. (A concurrent session
+    **pending** RFC — a super-draft (``state='super-draft'``: accepted
-     already holds migration 023; staying migration-free keeps this slice
+    as an idea but not yet graduated to an active RFC) — which has an
-     conflict-free as well as simpler.)
+    owner and a contribution surface. Renders as an "ask to contribute"
-  3. Cost — the active-RFC corpus is small and cache-resident, so building
+    affordance carrying the owner's display name.
-     the term index and scanning a ≤20k-char body per read is cheap.
+  * ``{"type": "rfc-candidate", ...}`` — Part 2. The term is a
+    strong-candidate that does **not** yet have a defining RFC. Renders
+    (for a viewer with create rights) as a "create RFC for '<term>'"
+    affordance that pre-fills the propose flow.
 
-**Matching is conservative by design.** Only references that are unlikely
+Precedence at any position is active > pending > candidate, then
-to be coincidental link:
+longest-match-first — an active link always wins over a contribute offer
+which always wins over a create offer for the same span.
+
+**Read-time enrichment, not submit-time persistence** (unchanged from
+Part 1): drafts are never scanned, only submitted content on the read
+paths, so links/offers track the *live* corpus. The active-RFC corpus,
+super-draft corpus, and tag taxonomy are all small and cache-resident,
+so building the index and scanning a ≤20k-char body per read is cheap.
+
+**Matching stays conservative by design.** A reference links/offers only
+when it is unlikely to be coincidental:
 
   * ``rfc_id`` tokens (e.g. ``RFC-0001``) — inherently specific.
   * Multi-word titles (containing whitespace, e.g. ``Open Human Model``).
   * Hyphenated slugs (containing ``-``, e.g. ``open-human-model``).
 
-Single common-word titles or slugs (e.g. a hypothetical RFC titled
+Single common-word titles/slugs are deliberately NOT matched — they
-"Human") are deliberately NOT auto-linked — they would turn every prose
+would turn every prose occurrence into an affordance.
-"human" into a link. Surfacing those is the job of the roadmap's
+
-"curated canonical-terms list", an explicit per-deployment opt-in left as
+**Part 2 candidate heuristic.** A candidate term is a **multi-word tag**
-a future extension rather than guessed at here.
+from the #27 tag taxonomy (the de-facto set of tags the corpus already
+carries) that has no defining RFC (no active or super-draft RFC whose
+slug or title is that term). Multi-word is the same false-positive guard
+the title rule uses: a single common tag word (``identity``) would be
+far too noisy. Broader candidate detection — capitalized multi-word
+phrases mined from the text, terms repeated across recently-touched PRs,
+or the #27 Haiku (``ANTHROPIC_API_KEY``) pathway — is a sanctioned but
+deferred extension; the conservative tag-taxonomy heuristic is chosen
+here to match Part 1's false-positive-averse philosophy.
 """
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-from typing import Any, Iterable
+import json
+import re
+from typing import Any, Iterable, NamedTuple
+
+
+class Term(NamedTuple):
+    """One match key plus what to emit when it hits.
+
+    ``key`` is the lowercase span to match (word-boundary, longest-first).
+    ``kind`` is ``'active' | 'pending' | 'candidate'`` and selects the
+    emitted segment shape. ``slug``/``title`` carry the target RFC (active
+    + pending); ``owner`` is the pending RFC's owner display name;
+    ``term`` is the candidate's canonical display spelling.
+    """
+
+    key: str
+    kind: str = "active"
+    slug: str = ""
+    title: str = ""
+    owner: str = ""
+    term: str = ""
+
+
+# Lower number = higher precedence when two keys of equal length match at
+# the same position. A real link beats a contribute offer beats a create
+# offer.
+_KIND_PRIORITY = {"active": 0, "pending": 1, "candidate": 2}
+
+
+def _coerce(t: Term | tuple) -> Term:
+    """Accept the legacy ``(key, slug, title)`` 3-tuple (treated as an
+    active term) alongside :class:`Term`, so direct unit-test callers and
+    older call sites keep working."""
+    if isinstance(t, Term):
+        return t
+    key, slug, title = t  # legacy active 3-tuple
+    return Term(key=key, kind="active", slug=slug, title=title)
 
 
 def _is_word_char(c: str) -> bool:
@@ -46,18 +98,37 @@ def _is_word_char(c: str) -> bool:
     return c.isalnum() or c in ("-", "_")
 
 
-def segment_text(text: str | None, terms: list[tuple[str, str, str]]) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+def _emit(term: Term, label: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
-    """Split ``text`` into text / rfc-link segments against ``terms``.
+    """The segment dict for a matched ``term``; ``label`` preserves source
+    casing."""
+    if term.kind == "pending":
+        return {
+            "type": "rfc-pending",
+            "slug": term.slug,
+            "label": label,
+            "title": term.title,
+            "owner": term.owner,
+        }
+    if term.kind == "candidate":
+        return {"type": "rfc-candidate", "label": label, "term": term.term}
+    return {"type": "rfc", "slug": term.slug, "label": label, "title": term.title}
 
-    ``terms`` is a list of ``(key_lower, slug, title)`` tuples; callers
+
-    pass it pre-sorted longest-first so the longest match wins at any
+def segment_text(text: str | None, terms: Iterable[Term | tuple]) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
-    position (so "Open Human Model" wins over a bare "Open"). Matching is
+    """Split ``text`` into text / link segments against ``terms``.
-    case-insensitive and respects word boundaries on both ends. The
+
-    returned ``label`` preserves the source casing.
+    ``terms`` are :class:`Term` objects (or legacy ``(key, slug, title)``
+    active 3-tuples). Matching is case-insensitive, respects word
+    boundaries on both ends, and prefers the longest key — then higher
+    :data:`_KIND_PRIORITY` — at any position.
 
     Always returns at least one segment; for empty/None input that is a
     single empty text segment, so callers can render uniformly.
     """
+    ordered = sorted(
+        (_coerce(t) for t in terms),
+        key=lambda t: (-len(t.key), _KIND_PRIORITY.get(t.kind, 9)),
+    )
     if not text:
         return [{"type": "text", "text": text or ""}]
 
@@ -67,28 +138,23 @@ def segment_text(text: str | None, terms: list[tuple[str, str, str]]) -> list[di
     n = len(text)
     i = 0
     while i < n:
-        match: tuple[str, str, str, int] | None = None
+        match: tuple[Term, int] | None = None
-        for key, slug, title in terms:
+        for term in ordered:
-            klen = len(key)
+            klen = len(term.key)
-            if klen == 0 or not low.startswith(key, i):
+            if klen == 0 or not low.startswith(term.key, i):
                 continue
             before = text[i - 1] if i > 0 else ""
             after = text[i + klen] if i + klen < n else ""
             if _is_word_char(before) or _is_word_char(after):
                 continue
-            match = (key, slug, title, klen)
+            match = (term, klen)
             break
         if match is not None:
-            _key, slug, title, klen = match
+            term, klen = match
             if buf:
                 out.append({"type": "text", "text": "".join(buf)})
                 buf = []
-            out.append({
+            out.append(_emit(term, text[i:i + klen]))
-                "type": "rfc",
-                "slug": slug,
-                "label": text[i:i + klen],
-                "title": title,
-            })
             i += klen
         else:
             buf.append(text[i])
@@ -99,8 +165,8 @@ def segment_text(text: str | None, terms: list[tuple[str, str, str]]) -> list[di
 
 
 def _keys_for(slug: str, title: str, rfc_id: str | None) -> Iterable[str]:
-    """The match keys an active RFC contributes. See the module docstring
+    """The match keys an RFC contributes. See the module docstring for why
-    for why each gate exists (conservative, false-positive-averse)."""
+    each gate exists (conservative, false-positive-averse)."""
     if rfc_id:
         rid = rfc_id.strip()
         if len(rid) >= 2:
@@ -117,13 +183,23 @@ def _keys_for(slug: str, title: str, rfc_id: str | None) -> Iterable[str]:
             yield s.lower()
 
 
+def _slugify(term: str) -> str:
+    """Deterministic kebab-case — mirrors the propose modal's slugify so a
+    tag's would-be slug compares correctly against existing RFC slugs."""
+    return re.sub(r"-+$", "", re.sub(r"^-+", "", re.sub(r"[^a-z0-9]+", "-", term.lower().strip())))
+
+
 class LinkIndex:
     """A reusable term index built once per request and applied to many
     bodies (a PR's description plus every comment on it)."""
 
-    def __init__(self, terms: list[tuple[str, str, str]]):
+    def __init__(self, terms: Iterable[Term | tuple]):
-        # Longest key first so the longest reference wins at each position.
+        # Coerce + order once; segment_text re-sorts defensively but a
-        self._terms = sorted(terms, key=lambda t: len(t[0]), reverse=True)
+        # pre-sorted list keeps the per-body cost to the scan itself.
+        self._terms: list[Term] = sorted(
+            (_coerce(t) for t in terms),
+            key=lambda t: (-len(t.key), _KIND_PRIORITY.get(t.kind, 9)),
+        )
 
     def __bool__(self) -> bool:
         return bool(self._terms)
@@ -132,27 +208,126 @@ class LinkIndex:
         return segment_text(text, self._terms)
 
 
-def build_index(conn, *, exclude_slug: str | None = None) -> LinkIndex:
+def _owner_display(conn, owners_json: str | None, proposed_by: str | None) -> str:
-    """Build a :class:`LinkIndex` from the accepted (active) RFC corpus.
+    """The display name to show for a pending RFC's owner. First entry of
+    ``owners_json`` resolved to its user row's display name, falling back
+    to the bare login, then ``proposed_by``, then a neutral noun."""
+    login = None
+    try:
+        owners = json.loads(owners_json or "[]")
+        if isinstance(owners, list):
+            login = next((o for o in owners if isinstance(o, str) and o.strip()), None)
+    except (ValueError, TypeError):
+        login = None
+    if login:
+        row = conn.execute(
+            "SELECT display_name FROM users WHERE gitea_login = ?", (login,)
+        ).fetchone()
+        if row and row["display_name"]:
+            return row["display_name"]
+        return login
+    return (proposed_by or "").strip() or "the proposer"
 
-    ``exclude_slug`` drops the RFC the surrounding surface is itself scoped
+
-    to, so an RFC's own title/id/slug don't self-link inside its own PR or
+def _tag_universe(conn) -> list[str]:
-    discussion. ``ORDER BY slug`` makes key de-duplication deterministic
+    """Distinct tags across the cached corpus (the #27 de-facto taxonomy),
-    when two RFCs would contribute the same key (first slug wins)."""
+    preserving original spelling; case-deduped."""
-    rows = conn.execute(
+    rows = conn.execute("SELECT tags_json FROM cached_rfcs").fetchall()
-        "SELECT slug, title, rfc_id FROM cached_rfcs WHERE state = 'active' ORDER BY slug"
+    out: list[str] = []
-    ).fetchall()
-    terms: list[tuple[str, str, str]] = []
     seen: set[str] = set()
     for r in rows:
+        try:
+            tags = json.loads(r["tags_json"] or "[]")
+        except (ValueError, TypeError):
+            continue
+        if not isinstance(tags, list):
+            continue
+        for t in tags:
+            if not isinstance(t, str):
+                continue
+            tag = t.strip()
+            low = tag.lower()
+            if tag and low not in seen:
+                seen.add(low)
+                out.append(tag)
+    return out
+
+
+def build_index(
+    conn,
+    *,
+    exclude_slug: str | None = None,
+    include_pending: bool = True,
+    include_candidates: bool = True,
+) -> LinkIndex:
+    """Build a :class:`LinkIndex` over the three buckets.
+
+    ``exclude_slug`` drops the RFC the surrounding surface is itself scoped
+    to, so an RFC's own title/id/slug don't self-link (or self-offer)
+    inside its own PR or discussion. Precedence is enforced by insertion
+    order — active keys are added first and a later bucket never overrides
+    an already-claimed key.
+    """
+    terms: list[Term] = []
+    seen: set[str] = set()
+
+    def add(key: str, term: Term) -> None:
+        if key in seen:
+            return
+        seen.add(key)
+        terms.append(term)
+
+    # --- Part 1: accepted (active) RFCs. ORDER BY slug makes key
+    # de-duplication deterministic when two RFCs would contribute the
+    # same key (first slug wins). ---
+    active_rows = conn.execute(
+        "SELECT slug, title, rfc_id FROM cached_rfcs WHERE state = 'active' ORDER BY slug"
+    ).fetchall()
+    # Track every slug + title that *has* a defining RFC, so Part 2 never
+    # offers to create one that already exists (active or pending).
+    defined_slugs: set[str] = set()
+    defined_titles: set[str] = set()
+    for r in active_rows:
         slug = r["slug"]
+        defined_slugs.add((slug or "").lower())
+        defined_titles.add((r["title"] or "").strip().lower())
         if exclude_slug is not None and slug == exclude_slug:
             continue
         title = r["title"] or ""
         rfc_id = r["rfc_id"] if "rfc_id" in r.keys() else None
         for key in _keys_for(slug, title, rfc_id):
-            if key in seen:
+            add(key, Term(key=key, kind="active", slug=slug, title=title))
+
+    # --- Part 3: pending (super-draft) RFCs. ---
+    pending_rows = conn.execute(
+        """
+        SELECT slug, title, rfc_id, owners_json, proposed_by
+          FROM cached_rfcs WHERE state = 'super-draft' ORDER BY slug
+        """
+    ).fetchall()
+    for r in pending_rows:
+        slug = r["slug"]
+        defined_slugs.add((slug or "").lower())
+        defined_titles.add((r["title"] or "").strip().lower())
+        if not include_pending:
+            continue
+        if exclude_slug is not None and slug == exclude_slug:
+            continue
+        title = r["title"] or ""
+        rfc_id = r["rfc_id"] if "rfc_id" in r.keys() else None
+        owner = _owner_display(conn, r["owners_json"], r["proposed_by"])
+        for key in _keys_for(slug, title, rfc_id):
+            add(key, Term(key=key, kind="pending", slug=slug, title=title, owner=owner))
+
+    # --- Part 2: strong-candidate terms with no defining RFC. ---
+    if include_candidates:
+        for tag in _tag_universe(conn):
+            low = tag.lower()
+            # Conservative: multi-word tags only (same guard as titles).
+            if " " not in tag and "\t" not in tag:
                 continue
-            seen.add(key)
+            if low in defined_titles or low in defined_slugs or _slugify(tag) in defined_slugs:
-            terms.append((key, slug, title))
+                continue
+            add(low, Term(key=low, kind="candidate", term=tag))
+
     return LinkIndex(terms)

backend/app/turnstile.py

@@ -73,6 +73,19 @@ def _siteverify_url() -> str:
     return os.environ.get("TURNSTILE_SITEVERIFY_URL", "").strip() or SITEVERIFY_URL
 
 
+async def _siteverify_post(url: str, data: dict) -> httpx.Response:
+    """Perform the siteverify POST on an `httpx.AsyncClient`.
+
+    Isolated as a narrow seam (I4, security-audit-0026): the call is
+    awaited so a slow CloudFlare response can't block the event loop,
+    and tests patch *this function* rather than the shared
+    `httpx.AsyncClient` (which other modules — gitea, docs — also
+    construct, so a global patch would break app boot).
+    """
+    async with httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=10.0) as client:
+        return await client.post(url, data=data)
+
+
 @dataclass
 class VerifyOutcome:
     """Result of a Turnstile siteverify call.
@@ -98,7 +111,7 @@ class VerifyOutcome:
     reason: str
 
 
-def verify_token(token: str | None, *, client_ip: str | None = None) -> VerifyOutcome:
+async def verify_token(token: str | None, *, client_ip: str | None = None) -> VerifyOutcome:
     """Validate a Turnstile token against CloudFlare's siteverify endpoint.
 
     Returns a VerifyOutcome describing whether the calling endpoint
@@ -108,9 +121,14 @@ def verify_token(token: str | None, *, client_ip: str | None = None) -> VerifyOu
       * 'misconfigured' → 500 "auth misconfigured"
       * 'missing-token' / 'failed' / 'network' → 400 "verification failed"
 
-    Tests monkeypatch `httpx.post` (or set `TURNSTILE_SITEVERIFY_URL`
+    Async (I4, security-audit-0026): the siteverify call is awaited on an
-    + a MockTransport client) to avoid touching the real CloudFlare
+    `httpx.AsyncClient` so a slow CloudFlare response can't block the
-    endpoint. No real keys are ever embedded in tests.
+    event loop (the prior synchronous `httpx.post` stalled the single
+    worker for up to the 10s timeout). Callers must `await` it.
+
+    Tests monkeypatch `_siteverify_post` (the narrow async seam) to avoid
+    touching the real CloudFlare endpoint and to keep the patch off the
+    shared `httpx.AsyncClient`. No real keys are ever embedded in tests.
     """
     secret = _secret()
     required = _required()
@@ -133,7 +151,7 @@ def verify_token(token: str | None, *, client_ip: str | None = None) -> VerifyOu
         data["remoteip"] = client_ip
 
     try:
-        response = httpx.post(_siteverify_url(), data=data, timeout=10.0)
+        response = await _siteverify_post(_siteverify_url(), data)
         payload = response.json()
     except Exception as exc:  # network, JSON parse, etc.
         log.warning("Turnstile siteverify call failed: %s", exc)

backend/migrations/024_contribution_requests.sql

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+-- v0.29.0 / roadmap #28 Part 3 — offer-to-contribute-to-a-pending-RFC.
+--
+-- When the #28 scanner matches a term in submitted PR/comment text to a
+-- *pending* RFC (a super-draft: accepted-as-an-idea but not yet graduated
+-- to an active RFC), the reader is offered a "ask to contribute" popover.
+-- Submitting it lands a row here AND a notification in each owner's §15
+-- inbox; the owner can accept (which fires #12's owner-invite flow with
+-- the requester as the invitee) or decline (the requester is notified and
+-- the request closes).
+--
+-- A "pending RFC" is scoped to a super-draft (cached_rfcs.state =
+-- 'super-draft'): it is in cached_rfcs (so the rfc_invitations FK that the
+-- accept path reuses resolves), it carries owners (owners_json) to route
+-- the request to, and it already has a discussion/contribution surface to
+-- open. Pre-merge idea PRs (not yet in cached_rfcs, no contribution
+-- surface) are deliberately out of scope — see backend/app/rfc_links.py.
+--
+-- The request row is the persistent record; the inbox notification is the
+-- owner-facing actionable surface keyed back to it via `notification_id`.
+
+CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS contribution_requests (
+    id                  INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
+    rfc_slug            TEXT NOT NULL
+                            REFERENCES cached_rfcs(slug) ON DELETE CASCADE,
+    requester_user_id   INTEGER NOT NULL
+                            REFERENCES users(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
+    -- The term in the PR/comment text that surfaced the offer (e.g. the
+    -- super-draft's title). Carried for the owner's context line and the
+    -- requester's "what RFC" anchor; not a foreign key.
+    matched_term        TEXT NOT NULL,
+    -- The three contribute-request fields (§15 / #26 vocabulary).
+    -- `who_i_am` and `why` are required; `use_case` mirrors #26's
+    -- optional ground-truth field.
+    who_i_am            TEXT NOT NULL,
+    why                 TEXT NOT NULL,
+    use_case            TEXT,
+    status              TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'pending'
+                            CHECK (status IN ('pending', 'accepted', 'declined')),
+    created_at          TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT (datetime('now')),
+    decided_at          TEXT,
+    decided_by_user_id  INTEGER REFERENCES users(id) ON DELETE SET NULL,
+    -- The rfc_invitations row minted on accept (the #12 reuse), and the
+    -- owner-facing notification row that carries the Accept/Decline action.
+    invitation_id       INTEGER REFERENCES rfc_invitations(id) ON DELETE SET NULL,
+    notification_id     INTEGER REFERENCES notifications(id) ON DELETE SET NULL
+);
+
+CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_contribution_requests_rfc
+    ON contribution_requests(rfc_slug, status);
+
+CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_contribution_requests_requester
+    ON contribution_requests(requester_user_id, status);
+
+-- At most one open (pending) request per (RFC, requester): a second ask
+-- while one is still pending is a 409, not a duplicate row. A decided
+-- request (accepted/declined) does not block a fresh ask later.
+CREATE UNIQUE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_contribution_requests_one_open
+    ON contribution_requests(rfc_slug, requester_user_id)
+    WHERE status = 'pending';

backend/tests/test_contributions_vertical.py

@@ -0,0 +1,236 @@
+"""v0.29.0 / roadmap #28 Parts 2 & 3 — create-RFC offers + contribute-to-
+pending requests.
+
+Two layers, mirroring test_rfc_links_vertical.py:
+
+  * The PR-view scanner surfaces `rfc-pending` (Part 3) and `rfc-candidate`
+    (Part 2) segments alongside Part 1's `rfc` links.
+  * The contribute-request flow end-to-end: a non-owner asks, each owner
+    gets an actionable §15 notification, accept fires #12's invite flow,
+    decline notifies the requester.
+
+Reuses the FakeGitea + seed/session helpers from the existing suites.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+
+from app import db
+
+from test_propose_vertical import (  # noqa: F401
+    FakeGitea,
+    app_with_fake_gitea,
+    provision_user_row,
+    sign_in_as,
+    tmp_env,
+)
+from test_rfc_view_vertical import SEED_BODY, seed_active_rfc
+from test_super_draft_vertical import seed_super_draft
+from test_rfc_links_vertical import _open_pr_on
+
+
+def _set_owner(slug: str, login: str) -> None:
+    db.conn().execute(
+        "UPDATE cached_rfcs SET owners_json = ? WHERE slug = ?",
+        (json.dumps([login]), slug),
+    )
+
+
+def _set_tags(slug: str, tags: list[str]) -> None:
+    db.conn().execute(
+        "UPDATE cached_rfcs SET tags_json = ? WHERE slug = ?",
+        (json.dumps(tags), slug),
+    )
+
+
+def _segs(segments, kind):
+    return [s for s in segments if s["type"] == kind]
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Part 2 + Part 3 — scanner surfaces on the PR view
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_pending_and_candidate_segments_on_pr(app_with_fake_gitea):
+    app, fake = app_with_fake_gitea
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        provision_user_row(user_id=2, login="alice", role="contributor")
+        # Host active RFC (OHM — single word, contributes no keys itself)
+        # carrying a multi-word tag with no defining RFC: the Part 2
+        # candidate. And a pending super-draft owned by alice: the Part 3
+        # contribute target.
+        seed_active_rfc(fake, slug="ohm", title="OHM", body=SEED_BODY)
+        _set_tags("ohm", ["memory model", "identity"])
+        seed_super_draft(fake, slug="open-human-model", title="Open Human Model",
+                         pitch="A framework for representing humans.", proposed_by="alice")
+        _set_owner("open-human-model", "alice")
+        sign_in_as(client, user_id=2, gitea_login="alice", display_name="Alice", role="contributor")
+
+        pr_number = _open_pr_on(
+            client, fake, host_slug="ohm",
+            description="This builds on the Open Human Model and the memory model.",
+        )
+        pr = client.get(f"/api/rfcs/ohm/prs/{pr_number}").json()
+        segs = pr["description_segments"]
+
+        pending = _segs(segs, "rfc-pending")
+        assert len(pending) == 1
+        assert pending[0]["slug"] == "open-human-model"
+        assert pending[0]["label"] == "Open Human Model"
+        assert pending[0]["owner"] == "Alice"   # display_name of the owner
+
+        candidate = _segs(segs, "rfc-candidate")
+        assert len(candidate) == 1
+        assert candidate[0]["term"] == "memory model"
+        # "identity" is a single-word tag — deliberately NOT a candidate.
+        assert all("identity" not in s.get("term", "") for s in candidate)
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Part 3 — the contribute-request flow
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def _seed_pending_owned_by_alice(fake):
+    provision_user_row(user_id=2, login="alice", role="contributor")
+    provision_user_row(user_id=3, login="bob", role="contributor")
+    seed_super_draft(fake, slug="open-human-model", title="Open Human Model",
+                     pitch="A framework.", proposed_by="alice")
+    _set_owner("open-human-model", "alice")
+
+
+_REQUEST = {
+    "matched_term": "Open Human Model",
+    "who_i_am": "Bob, a researcher",
+    "why": "I have relevant prior work to bring.",
+    "use_case": "Building an identity tool.",
+}
+
+
+def test_request_accept_invites_and_notifies(app_with_fake_gitea):
+    app, fake = app_with_fake_gitea
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        _seed_pending_owned_by_alice(fake)
+
+        # Bob asks to contribute.
+        sign_in_as(client, user_id=3, gitea_login="bob", display_name="Bob",
+                   role="contributor", email="bob@test")
+        r = client.post("/api/rfcs/open-human-model/contribution-requests", json=_REQUEST)
+        assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
+        request_id = r.json()["id"]
+        assert r.json()["status"] == "pending"
+
+        # A second ask while pending is a 409, not a duplicate row.
+        assert client.post("/api/rfcs/open-human-model/contribution-requests",
+                           json=_REQUEST).status_code == 409
+
+        # Alice (owner) sees the actionable notification with full detail.
+        sign_in_as(client, user_id=2, gitea_login="alice", display_name="Alice",
+                   role="contributor", email="alice@test")
+        inbox = client.get("/api/notifications").json()
+        reqs = [i for i in inbox["items"]
+                if i["event_kind"] == "contribution_request_on_pending_rfc"]
+        assert len(reqs) == 1
+        assert "wants to contribute" in reqs[0]["summary"]
+        assert reqs[0]["extras"]["who_i_am"] == "Bob, a researcher"
+        assert reqs[0]["extras"]["request_id"] == request_id
+
+        # Alice accepts → #12 invitation minted for bob's email.
+        acc = client.post(f"/api/rfcs/open-human-model/contribution-requests/{request_id}/accept")
+        assert acc.status_code == 200, acc.text
+        assert acc.json()["status"] == "accepted"
+        assert acc.json()["invitation_id"]
+
+        inv = db.conn().execute(
+            "SELECT invitee_email, role_in_rfc, status FROM rfc_invitations "
+            "WHERE rfc_slug = 'open-human-model'"
+        ).fetchone()
+        assert inv["invitee_email"] == "bob@test"
+        assert inv["role_in_rfc"] == "contributor"
+        assert inv["status"] == "pending"
+
+        # The request is settled — re-accepting is a 409.
+        assert client.post(
+            f"/api/rfcs/open-human-model/contribution-requests/{request_id}/accept"
+        ).status_code == 409
+
+        # Bob gets the accepted echo in his inbox.
+        sign_in_as(client, user_id=3, gitea_login="bob", display_name="Bob",
+                   role="contributor", email="bob@test")
+        bob_kinds = [i["event_kind"] for i in client.get("/api/notifications").json()["items"]]
+        assert "contribution_request_accepted" in bob_kinds
+
+
+def test_decline_notifies_requester(app_with_fake_gitea):
+    app, fake = app_with_fake_gitea
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        _seed_pending_owned_by_alice(fake)
+        sign_in_as(client, user_id=3, gitea_login="bob", display_name="Bob",
+                   role="contributor", email="bob@test")
+        request_id = client.post(
+            "/api/rfcs/open-human-model/contribution-requests", json=_REQUEST
+        ).json()["id"]
+
+        sign_in_as(client, user_id=2, gitea_login="alice", display_name="Alice",
+                   role="contributor", email="alice@test")
+        dec = client.post(f"/api/rfcs/open-human-model/contribution-requests/{request_id}/decline")
+        assert dec.status_code == 200, dec.text
+        assert dec.json()["status"] == "declined"
+
+        row = db.conn().execute(
+            "SELECT status FROM contribution_requests WHERE id = ?", (request_id,)
+        ).fetchone()
+        assert row["status"] == "declined"
+
+        sign_in_as(client, user_id=3, gitea_login="bob", display_name="Bob",
+                   role="contributor", email="bob@test")
+        bob_kinds = [i["event_kind"] for i in client.get("/api/notifications").json()["items"]]
+        assert "contribution_request_declined" in bob_kinds
+
+
+def test_owner_cannot_request_own_rfc(app_with_fake_gitea):
+    app, fake = app_with_fake_gitea
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        _seed_pending_owned_by_alice(fake)
+        sign_in_as(client, user_id=2, gitea_login="alice", display_name="Alice",
+                   role="contributor", email="alice@test")
+        r = client.post("/api/rfcs/open-human-model/contribution-requests", json=_REQUEST)
+        assert r.status_code == 409
+        assert "own" in r.json()["detail"].lower()
+
+
+def test_request_on_active_rfc_rejected(app_with_fake_gitea):
+    # The contribute offer only exists for pending super-drafts; an active
+    # RFC uses the Part-1 link instead.
+    app, fake = app_with_fake_gitea
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        provision_user_row(user_id=3, login="bob", role="contributor")
+        seed_active_rfc(fake, slug="ohm", title="OHM", body=SEED_BODY)
+        sign_in_as(client, user_id=3, gitea_login="bob", display_name="Bob",
+                   role="contributor", email="bob@test")
+        r = client.post("/api/rfcs/ohm/contribution-requests", json=_REQUEST)
+        assert r.status_code == 409
+
+
+def test_contribution_target_eligibility(app_with_fake_gitea):
+    app, fake = app_with_fake_gitea
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        _seed_pending_owned_by_alice(fake)
+
+        # Anonymous: not eligible, told to sign in.
+        t = client.get("/api/rfcs/open-human-model/contribution-target").json()
+        assert t["eligible"] is False
+        assert "sign in" in (t["reason"] or "").lower()
+        assert t["owner"] == "Alice"
+
+        # Bob: eligible until he has a pending ask, then not.
+        sign_in_as(client, user_id=3, gitea_login="bob", display_name="Bob",
+                   role="contributor", email="bob@test")
+        assert client.get("/api/rfcs/open-human-model/contribution-target").json()["eligible"] is True
+        client.post("/api/rfcs/open-human-model/contribution-requests", json=_REQUEST)
+        after = client.get("/api/rfcs/open-human-model/contribution-target").json()
+        assert after["already_requested"] is True
+        assert after["eligible"] is False

backend/tests/test_e2e_smoke.py

@@ -119,19 +119,20 @@ def test_full_user_lifecycle_propose_through_hygiene(app_with_fake_gitea):
         r = client.post(f"/api/rfcs/ohm/prs/{body_pr}/merge")
         assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
 
-        # --- 7. Graduate the super-draft. ---
+        # --- 7. Graduate the super-draft (in-place flip, §13). ---
         r = client.post(
             "/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate?_sync=1",
-            json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0001", "repo_name": "rfc-0001-ohm",
+            json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0001", "owners": ["ben"]},
-                  "owners": ["ben"]},
         )
         assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
         assert r.json()["succeeded"] is True
         d = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm").json()
         assert d["state"] == "active"
-        assert d["repo"] == "wiggleverse/rfc-0001-ohm"
+        # Meta-only topology (§1): no per-RFC repo — the active RFC lives
+        # in its meta entry, `repo` stays null.
+        assert d["repo"] is None
 
-        # --- 8. Alice opens a PR on the now-active RFC's per-RFC repo. ---
+        # --- 8. Alice opens a PR on the now-active RFC (meta repo). ---
         # v0.16.0 (item #12): ben is the RFC owner now; alice needs a
         # per-RFC contributor invitation to cut a branch. In the
         # production flow, ben would invite her via /invitations and
@@ -200,8 +201,8 @@ def test_full_user_lifecycle_propose_through_hygiene(app_with_fake_gitea):
         )
         assert counters["deleted_post_merge"] >= 1, counters
 
-        # The branch is gone from FakeGitea + cached row flipped.
+        # The branch is gone from FakeGitea (meta repo) + cached row flipped.
-        assert active_branch not in fake.branches[("wiggleverse", "rfc-0001-ohm")]
+        assert active_branch not in fake.branches[("wiggleverse", "meta")]
         cached = db.conn().execute(
             "SELECT state FROM cached_branches WHERE rfc_slug = 'ohm' AND branch_name = ?",
             (active_branch,),

backend/tests/test_email_envelope.py

@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 from email.utils import parsedate_to_datetime
 
+import pytest
+
 from app.email_envelope import build_envelope
 
 
@@ -160,14 +162,18 @@ def test_envelope_plain_only_body_is_text_plain():
     assert msg.get_content().strip() == "Hello, world."
 
 
-def test_envelope_with_html_is_multipart_alternative():
+def test_envelope_html_body_is_guarded_not_enabled():
-    msg = build_envelope(**_base_kwargs(body_html="<p>Hello, <b>world</b>.</p>"))
+    # I3 (security-audit-0026): the HTML/multipart-alternative path is
-    assert msg.get_content_type() == "multipart/alternative"
+    # intentionally not enabled — passing body_html must fail loudly so
-    # Two parts: text/plain first (so plain-text clients picking the
+    # a future caller can't silently ship unescaped user HTML (the C1
-    # first part get the readable text), text/html second.
+    # stored-XSS class in the mail channel). When HTML mail is enabled
-    parts = list(msg.iter_parts())
+    # deliberately, this test flips to assert the multipart shape.
-    assert len(parts) == 2
+    with pytest.raises(NotImplementedError):
-    assert parts[0].get_content_type() == "text/plain"
+        build_envelope(**_base_kwargs(body_html="<p>Hello, <b>world</b>.</p>"))
-    assert parts[1].get_content_type() == "text/html"
+
-    assert "Hello, world." in parts[0].get_content()
+
-    assert "<b>world</b>" in parts[1].get_content()
+def test_envelope_html_none_is_plain_only():
+    # The guard keys on `is not None`, so the default (None) stays the
+    # live plain-text path — exercised here to lock the boundary.
+    msg = build_envelope(**_base_kwargs(body_html=None))
+    assert msg.get_content_type() == "text/plain"

backend/tests/test_graduation_vertical.py

@@ -1,29 +1,29 @@
-"""End-to-end integration tests for the Slice 5 vertical (§13 in full).
+"""End-to-end integration tests for the §13 graduation flow under the
+meta-only topology (SPEC §1, ROADMAP #36).
 
-Walks the §13.3 transactional sequence end-to-end against the in-process
+Graduation is an in-place state flip on the meta entry — no per-RFC repo
-FakeGitea from test_propose_vertical.py:
+is created, the body is kept, and there is no multi-step transaction or
+rollback (§13.3). These tests walk it against the in-process FakeGitea
+from test_propose_vertical.py:
 
-  * Seed an owned super-draft (skipping the propose+merge + §13.1 claim
+  * Seed an owned super-draft (the §13.1 claim flow is exercised
-    round-trips already proven by Slice 1 and exercised in
+    separately in test_claim_opens_meta_pr).
-    test_claim_opens_meta_pr below for the §13.1 surface itself).
   * GET /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate/check returns per-field validity for
-    the dialog.
+    the two-field dialog (integer id + owners; no repo name).
-  * GET /api/rfcs/<slug>/blocking-prs returns the §9.8 precondition list.
+  * POST /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate?_sync=1 opens + merges the flip PR
-  * POST /api/rfcs/<slug>/graduate?_sync=1 runs the five-step sequence
+    inline. On success: NO per-RFC repo, the meta entry is `state:
-    inline. On success: per-RFC repo exists with RFC.md / README.md /
+    active` with the body KEPT and `repo` null, cached_rfcs.state flips
-    .rfc/metadata.yaml, meta-entry body is stripped, frontmatter is
+    to 'active'.
-    graduated, cached_rfcs.state is 'active'.
+  * An open body-edit PR no longer blocks graduation (§9.8) — they
-  * §9.8 precondition gate refuses the start when a body-edit PR is open.
+    coexist.
-  * Rollback on a mid-sequence failure unwinds repo creation cleanly.
+  * An open-PR failure leaves the entry a super-draft (nothing created);
-  * §13.4 chat migration: whole-doc threads under (slug, 'main') survive
+    a merge failure cleans up the half-open PR/branch and leaves the
-    graduation unchanged — the rfc_slug is the canonical key per §2.3,
+    entry a super-draft.
-    so no data movement is needed.
+  * §13.4: chat threads + edit branches stay put — the slug is the
-  * §9.8 pre-graduation history: the new RFC's /main response surfaces
+    canonical key per §2.3, so nothing moves at the flip.
-    edit-branch threads under `pre_graduation_history`.
 
-The orchestrator's `?_sync=1` seam awaits the sequence inline so the
+The orchestrator's `?_sync=1` seam awaits the flip inline so the test can
-test can assert post-conditions on the same event loop tick. Production
+assert post-conditions on the same event loop tick.
-clients use the spec-described SSE shape via `/graduate/progress`.
 """
 from __future__ import annotations
 
@@ -110,7 +110,9 @@ def seed_owned_super_draft(fake: FakeGitea, *, slug: str, title: str, pitch: str
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
-def test_graduate_check_validates_three_fields(app_with_fake_gitea):
+def test_graduate_check_validates_id_and_owners(app_with_fake_gitea):
+    """Two-field dialog under meta-only: integer id + owners. No repo
+    name to validate (§13.2)."""
     from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
 
     app, fake = app_with_fake_gitea
@@ -121,57 +123,46 @@ def test_graduate_check_validates_three_fields(app_with_fake_gitea):
         sign_in_as(client, user_id=1, gitea_login="ben",
                    display_name="Ben", role="owner")
 
-        # Happy: a fresh RFC-0001 + rfc-0001-ohm repo name.
+        # Happy: a fresh RFC-0001.
-        r = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate/check",
+        r = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate/check", params={"id": "RFC-0001"})
-                       params={"id": "RFC-0001", "repo": "rfc-0001-ohm"})
         assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
         d = r.json()
         assert d["id"]["ok"] is True
-        assert d["repo"]["ok"] is True
         assert d["owners"]["ok"] is True
-        assert d["blocking_prs"]["ok"] is True
         assert d["can_submit"] is True
+        # No repo field in the meta-only check response.
+        assert "repo" not in d
 
         # ID format error — non-numeric tail.
-        r = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate/check",
+        r = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate/check", params={"id": "RFC-abcd"})
-                       params={"id": "RFC-abcd", "repo": "rfc-0001-ohm"})
         d = r.json()
         assert d["id"]["ok"] is False
         assert d["can_submit"] is False
 
-        # Repo name pattern error — leading dot.
-        r = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate/check",
-                       params={"id": "RFC-0001", "repo": ".bad"})
-        d = r.json()
-        assert d["repo"]["ok"] is False
-
 
 def test_graduate_check_refuses_when_no_owners(app_with_fake_gitea):
     """An unclaimed super-draft fails the owners precondition; can_submit
-    flips false even with valid id+repo."""
+    flips false even with a valid id."""
     from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
 
     app, fake = app_with_fake_gitea
     with TestClient(app) as client:
         provision_user_row(user_id=1, login="ben", role="owner")
-        # No owners — simulates an unclaimed super-draft.
         seed_owned_super_draft(fake, slug="ohm", title="OHM", pitch=PITCH, owners=[])
         sign_in_as(client, user_id=1, gitea_login="ben",
                    display_name="Ben", role="owner")
-        r = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate/check",
+        r = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate/check", params={"id": "RFC-0001"})
-                       params={"id": "RFC-0001", "repo": "rfc-0001-ohm"})
         d = r.json()
         assert d["owners"]["ok"] is False
         assert "No owners" in d["owners"]["error"]
         assert d["can_submit"] is False
 
 
-def test_graduate_happy_path_runs_five_steps_and_flips_state(app_with_fake_gitea):
+def test_graduate_happy_path_flips_in_place_keeping_body(app_with_fake_gitea):
-    """The full §13.3 sequence: create repo, seed files, open PR, merge
+    """The meta-only flip: open + merge a frontmatter PR. End state:
-    PR, refresh cache. End state: cached_rfcs.state='active', the meta
+    cached_rfcs.state='active', the meta entry's body is KEPT, `repo` is
-    entry's body is stripped, the per-RFC repo has RFC.md, the audit
+    null, NO per-RFC repo exists, and the audit log carries graduate_start
-    log carries graduate_start → graduate_complete bracketing the
+    → graduate_pr_open → graduate_pr_merge → graduate_complete."""
-    per-step rows."""
     from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
     from app import db, entry as entry_mod
 
@@ -186,60 +177,57 @@ def test_graduate_happy_path_runs_five_steps_and_flips_state(app_with_fake_gitea
 
         r = client.post(
             "/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate?_sync=1",
-            json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0042", "repo_name": "rfc-0042-ohm",
+            json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0042", "owners": ["ben"]},
-                  "owners": ["ben"]},
         )
         assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
         d = r.json()
         assert d["finished"] is True
         assert d["succeeded"] is True
-        assert d["repo"] == "wiggleverse/rfc-0042-ohm"
+        # No repo in the response, no per-RFC repo on Gitea.
+        assert "repo" not in d
+        assert ("wiggleverse", "rfc-0042-ohm") not in fake.repos
+        assert not any(
+            k[1].startswith("rfc-0042") for k in fake.repos
+        ), f"a per-RFC repo was created: {fake.repos}"
 
-        # 1. Per-RFC repo exists on Gitea.
+        # Meta entry on main: state flipped, body KEPT, repo null.
-        assert ("wiggleverse", "rfc-0042-ohm") in fake.repos
-        # 2. Seed files landed on main.
-        assert ("wiggleverse", "rfc-0042-ohm", "main", "RFC.md") in fake.files
-        assert ("wiggleverse", "rfc-0042-ohm", "main", "README.md") in fake.files
-        assert ("wiggleverse", "rfc-0042-ohm", "main", ".rfc/metadata.yaml") in fake.files
-        rfc_md = fake.files[("wiggleverse", "rfc-0042-ohm", "main", "RFC.md")]["content"]
-        assert "Open Human Model is a framework" in rfc_md
-        # 3. Meta entry body is stripped + frontmatter graduated.
         meta_text = fake.files[("wiggleverse", "meta", "main", "rfcs/ohm.md")]["content"]
         graduated = entry_mod.parse(meta_text)
         assert graduated.state == "active"
         assert graduated.id == "RFC-0042"
-        assert graduated.repo == "wiggleverse/rfc-0042-ohm"
+        assert graduated.repo is None
         assert graduated.graduated_by == "ben"
         assert graduated.graduated_at  # non-empty ISO date
-        assert graduated.body.strip() == ""
+        assert "Open Human Model is a framework" in graduated.body
-        # 5. cached_rfcs.state flipped to active via the inline refresh.
+
+        # cached_rfcs flipped to active via the inline refresh; body intact.
         cached = db.conn().execute(
             "SELECT state, rfc_id, repo, body FROM cached_rfcs WHERE slug = 'ohm'"
         ).fetchone()
         assert cached["state"] == "active"
         assert cached["rfc_id"] == "RFC-0042"
-        assert cached["repo"] == "wiggleverse/rfc-0042-ohm"
+        assert cached["repo"] is None
-        # cached body now mirrors RFC.md from the per-RFC repo.
         assert "Open Human Model is a framework" in cached["body"]
 
-        # Audit log: graduate_start, graduate_repo_create, graduate_repo_seed,
-        # graduate_pr_open, graduate_pr_merge, graduate_complete, in order.
         kinds = [
-            r["action_kind"]
+            row["action_kind"]
-            for r in db.conn().execute(
+            for row in db.conn().execute(
                 "SELECT action_kind FROM actions WHERE rfc_slug = 'ohm' ORDER BY id"
             )
         ]
-        for needed in ("graduate_start", "graduate_repo_create",
+        for needed in ("graduate_start", "graduate_pr_open",
-                       "graduate_repo_seed", "graduate_pr_open",
                        "graduate_pr_merge", "graduate_complete"):
             assert needed in kinds, f"missing audit row {needed}: {kinds}"
+        # The retired per-repo steps must NOT appear.
+        for gone in ("graduate_repo_create", "graduate_repo_seed",
+                     "graduate_repo_delete", "graduate_rollback"):
+            assert gone not in kinds, f"retired audit row present: {gone}"
 
 
-def test_graduate_refuses_when_body_edit_pr_open(app_with_fake_gitea):
+def test_graduate_coexists_with_open_body_edit_pr(app_with_fake_gitea):
-    """§9.8: an open meta-repo body-edit PR against rfcs/<slug>.md blocks
+    """§9.8 (meta-only): an open meta-repo body-edit PR no longer blocks
-    graduation before the bot starts the sequence — §13.3's rollback
+    graduation — the body is kept, so they coexist. /check stays
-    complexity does not grow."""
+    submittable and the flip succeeds."""
     from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
     from app import db
 
@@ -249,13 +237,11 @@ def test_graduate_refuses_when_body_edit_pr_open(app_with_fake_gitea):
         provision_user_row(user_id=2, login="alice", role="contributor")
         seed_owned_super_draft(fake, slug="ohm", title="OHM",
                                pitch=PITCH, owners=["ben"])
-        # v0.16.0 (item #12): ben is the RFC owner; alice needs a per-RFC
-        # contributor invitation to cut an edit branch on the super-draft.
         grant_rfc_collaborator(user_id=2, rfc_slug="ohm", role_in_rfc="contributor")
         sign_in_as(client, user_id=2, gitea_login="alice",
                    display_name="Alice", role="contributor")
 
-        # Cut an edit branch and open a body-edit PR (full Slice 4 path).
+        # Cut an edit branch and open a body-edit PR.
         branch = client.post("/api/rfcs/ohm/start-edit-branch", json={}).json()["branch_name"]
         view = client.get(f"/api/rfcs/ohm/branches/{branch}").json()
         thread_id = view["main_thread_id"]
@@ -279,94 +265,31 @@ def test_graduate_refuses_when_body_edit_pr_open(app_with_fake_gitea):
             f"/api/rfcs/ohm/branches/{branch}/open-pr",
             json={"title": "Add harm", "description": "Adds harm dimension."},
         ).json()["pr_number"]
+        assert pr_number  # PR is open
 
-        # /blocking-prs surfaces it.
+        # /check stays submittable despite the open body-edit PR.
         sign_in_as(client, user_id=1, gitea_login="ben",
                    display_name="Ben", role="owner")
-        r = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/blocking-prs")
+        d = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate/check", params={"id": "RFC-0001"}).json()
-        items = r.json()["items"]
+        assert "blocking_prs" not in d
-        assert len(items) == 1
+        assert d["can_submit"] is True
-        assert items[0]["pr_number"] == pr_number
 
-        # /check refuses can_submit.
+        # The flip succeeds — coexists with the open body-edit PR.
-        r = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate/check",
-                       params={"id": "RFC-0001", "repo": "rfc-0001-ohm"})
-        d = r.json()
-        assert d["blocking_prs"]["ok"] is False
-        assert d["can_submit"] is False
-
-        # POST refuses with 409 — the bot never starts the sequence.
         r = client.post(
             "/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate?_sync=1",
-            json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0001", "repo_name": "rfc-0001-ohm",
+            json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0001", "owners": ["ben"]},
-                  "owners": ["ben"]},
         )
-        assert r.status_code == 409
-        assert "blocking graduation" in r.text or "block" in r.text
-
-
-def test_graduate_rollback_on_step_2_seed_failure(app_with_fake_gitea):
-    """Step 2 (seed files) fails partway → the orchestrator rolls back
-    step 1 (delete the repo) and records the rollback in the audit log.
-    The cached_rfcs row stays at 'super-draft'."""
-    from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
-    from app import db
-    from app.bot import Bot
-    from app.gitea import Gitea, GiteaError
-
-    app, fake = app_with_fake_gitea
-    with TestClient(app) as client:
-        provision_user_row(user_id=1, login="ben", role="owner")
-        seed_owned_super_draft(fake, slug="ohm", title="OHM",
-                               pitch=PITCH, owners=["ben"])
-        sign_in_as(client, user_id=1, gitea_login="ben",
-                   display_name="Ben", role="owner")
-
-        # Monkey-patch the bot to fail on seed_graduated_rfc. The repo
-        # has already been created in step 1; the rollback must delete it.
-        orig_seed = Bot.seed_graduated_rfc
-        async def boom(self, *args, **kwargs):
-            raise GiteaError(500, "simulated seed failure for rollback test")
-        Bot.seed_graduated_rfc = boom
-        try:
-            r = client.post(
-                "/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate?_sync=1",
-                json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0003", "repo_name": "rfc-0003-ohm",
-                      "owners": ["ben"]},
-            )
-        finally:
-            Bot.seed_graduated_rfc = orig_seed
         assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
-        d = r.json()
+        assert r.json()["succeeded"] is True
-        assert d["finished"] is True
-        assert d["succeeded"] is False
-
-        # Repo deleted as the rollback inverse.
-        assert ("wiggleverse", "rfc-0003-ohm") not in fake.repos
-        # Meta entry unchanged.
         cached = db.conn().execute(
-            "SELECT state, rfc_id FROM cached_rfcs WHERE slug = 'ohm'"
+            "SELECT state FROM cached_rfcs WHERE slug = 'ohm'"
         ).fetchone()
-        assert cached["state"] == "super-draft"
+        assert cached["state"] == "active"
-        assert cached["rfc_id"] is None
-        # Audit log carries the rollback row.
-        kinds = [
-            r["action_kind"]
-            for r in db.conn().execute(
-                "SELECT action_kind FROM actions WHERE rfc_slug = 'ohm' ORDER BY id"
-            )
-        ]
-        assert "graduate_start" in kinds
-        assert "graduate_repo_create" in kinds
-        assert "graduate_repo_delete" in kinds
-        assert "graduate_rollback" in kinds
-        assert "graduate_complete" not in kinds
 
 
-def test_graduate_rollback_on_step_3_pr_open_failure(app_with_fake_gitea):
+def test_graduate_open_pr_failure_leaves_super_draft(app_with_fake_gitea):
-    """Step 3 (open PR) fails → the orchestrator rolls back steps 2 and
+    """An open-PR failure creates nothing — the entry stays a super-draft
-    1 (deleting the repo, which reclaims the seed commits at the same
+    with its body intact and no graduation PR on the meta repo."""
-    time). The meta-repo entry is untouched."""
     from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
     from app import db
     from app.bot import Bot
@@ -387,19 +310,92 @@ def test_graduate_rollback_on_step_3_pr_open_failure(app_with_fake_gitea):
         try:
             r = client.post(
                 "/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate?_sync=1",
-                json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0007", "repo_name": "rfc-0007-ohm",
+                json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0007", "owners": ["ben"]},
-                      "owners": ["ben"]},
             )
         finally:
             Bot.open_graduation_pr = orig_open_pr
         assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
         assert r.json()["succeeded"] is False
-        # Repo torn down.
+
-        assert ("wiggleverse", "rfc-0007-ohm") not in fake.repos
+        # Entry untouched: still super-draft, body intact on main.
-        # Meta entry's body still has the pitch (not stripped).
+        cached = db.conn().execute(
+            "SELECT state, rfc_id FROM cached_rfcs WHERE slug = 'ohm'"
+        ).fetchone()
+        assert cached["state"] == "super-draft"
+        assert cached["rfc_id"] is None
         meta_text = fake.files[("wiggleverse", "meta", "main", "rfcs/ohm.md")]["content"]
         assert "Open Human Model is a framework" in meta_text
 
+        kinds = [
+            row["action_kind"]
+            for row in db.conn().execute(
+                "SELECT action_kind FROM actions WHERE rfc_slug = 'ohm' ORDER BY id"
+            )
+        ]
+        assert "graduate_start" in kinds
+        assert "graduate_failed" in kinds
+        assert "graduate_complete" not in kinds
+
+
+def test_graduate_merge_failure_cleans_up_pr(app_with_fake_gitea):
+    """A merge failure leaves the flip PR open on its dash-suffixed
+    branch; the orchestrator closes the PR and deletes the branch so
+    failed attempts don't accumulate. The entry stays a super-draft —
+    the flip PR's commit was on a branch, not on main."""
+    from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+    from app import db
+    from app.bot import Bot
+    from app.gitea import GiteaError
+
+    app, fake = app_with_fake_gitea
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        provision_user_row(user_id=1, login="ben", role="owner")
+        seed_owned_super_draft(fake, slug="ohm", title="OHM",
+                               pitch=PITCH, owners=["ben"])
+        sign_in_as(client, user_id=1, gitea_login="ben",
+                   display_name="Ben", role="owner")
+
+        orig_merge = Bot.merge_graduation_pr
+        async def boom(self, *args, **kwargs):
+            raise GiteaError(502, "simulated merge failure")
+        Bot.merge_graduation_pr = boom
+        try:
+            r = client.post(
+                "/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate?_sync=1",
+                json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0009", "owners": ["ben"]},
+            )
+        finally:
+            Bot.merge_graduation_pr = orig_merge
+        assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
+        assert r.json()["succeeded"] is False
+
+        # Entry stays super-draft on main (the flip never merged).
+        cached = db.conn().execute(
+            "SELECT state FROM cached_rfcs WHERE slug = 'ohm'"
+        ).fetchone()
+        assert cached["state"] == "super-draft"
+        meta_text = fake.files[("wiggleverse", "meta", "main", "rfcs/ohm.md")]["content"]
+        assert "state: super-draft" in meta_text
+
+        # The dash-suffixed graduation branch was cleaned up.
+        grad_branches = [
+            name for (o, repo), branches in fake.branches.items()
+            if (o, repo) == ("wiggleverse", "meta")
+            for name in branches
+            if name.startswith("graduate-ohm-")
+        ]
+        assert grad_branches == [], f"leftover graduation branch: {grad_branches}"
+
+        kinds = [
+            row["action_kind"]
+            for row in db.conn().execute(
+                "SELECT action_kind FROM actions WHERE rfc_slug = 'ohm' ORDER BY id"
+            )
+        ]
+        assert "graduate_pr_open" in kinds
+        assert "graduate_failed" in kinds
+        assert "graduate_complete" not in kinds
+
 
 def test_graduate_refuses_concurrent_graduation(app_with_fake_gitea):
     """A second graduation request for a slug already in-flight is refused."""
@@ -414,17 +410,14 @@ def test_graduate_refuses_concurrent_graduation(app_with_fake_gitea):
         sign_in_as(client, user_id=1, gitea_login="ben",
                    display_name="Ben", role="owner")
 
-        # Seed a synthetic in-flight state so the registry refuses the second.
         st = api_graduation._new_active(
-            "ohm", rfc_id="RFC-0001", repo_name="rfc-0001-ohm",
+            "ohm", rfc_id="RFC-0001", owners=["ben"], arbiters=["ben"],
-            repo_full="wiggleverse/rfc-0001-ohm", owners=["ben"], arbiters=["ben"],
         )
         st.finished = False
         try:
             r = client.post(
                 "/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate?_sync=1",
-                json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0001", "repo_name": "rfc-0001-ohm",
+                json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0001", "owners": ["ben"]},
-                      "owners": ["ben"]},
             )
             assert r.status_code == 409
         finally:
@@ -432,11 +425,9 @@ def test_graduate_refuses_concurrent_graduation(app_with_fake_gitea):
 
 
 def test_chat_threads_survive_graduation_without_data_movement(app_with_fake_gitea):
-    """§13.4: chat threads on the super-draft's canonical-body view
+    """§13.4: chat threads on the entry's main view (`branch_name='main'`)
-    (`branch_name='main'`) are interpreted as the new RFC's main-thread
+    stay put across the flip — the rfc_slug is canonical per §2.3 — so the
-    after graduation. The rows don't move — the rfc_slug is canonical
+    same thread surfaces from /branches/main before and after graduation."""
-    per §2.3 — so the same thread surfaces from both before and after
-    the graduation."""
     from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
     from app import db
 
@@ -448,9 +439,6 @@ def test_chat_threads_survive_graduation_without_data_movement(app_with_fake_git
         sign_in_as(client, user_id=1, gitea_login="ben",
                    display_name="Ben", role="owner")
 
-        # Materialize a whole-doc main thread + a message on it. This
-        # mirrors what reading the canonical-body view would create
-        # lazily (§8.12 / api_branches._ensure_branch_chat_thread).
         cur = db.conn().execute(
             """
             INSERT INTO threads (rfc_slug, branch_name, anchor_kind, thread_kind, created_by)
@@ -466,32 +454,26 @@ def test_chat_threads_survive_graduation_without_data_movement(app_with_fake_git
             (thread_id,),
         )
 
-        # Graduate.
         r = client.post(
             "/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate?_sync=1",
-            json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0099", "repo_name": "rfc-0099-ohm",
+            json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0099", "owners": ["ben"]},
-                  "owners": ["ben"]},
         )
         assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
 
-        # The thread row's identity is unchanged.
         row = db.conn().execute(
             "SELECT id, branch_name FROM threads WHERE id = ?", (thread_id,),
         ).fetchone()
         assert row["branch_name"] == "main"
-        # The new RFC's main view surfaces the same thread id as its
-        # whole-doc main thread (the entry is now active, the branch
-        # 'main' now points at the per-RFC repo's main, but the
-        # `(rfc_slug, branch_name)` key remains the canonical anchor).
         r = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/branches/main")
         assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
         assert r.json()["main_thread_id"] == thread_id
 
 
-def test_pre_graduation_history_surfaces_edit_branch_threads(app_with_fake_gitea):
+def test_edit_branch_surfaces_normally_after_graduation(app_with_fake_gitea):
-    """§9.8: after graduation, threads on meta-repo edit branches stay
+    """§13.4 (meta-only): after graduation an edit branch is a *current*
-    attached to their original branch_name and surface from the new
+    branch of the now-active RFC — it surfaces in the normal `branches`
-    RFC's /main response under `pre_graduation_history`."""
+    list, and there is no separate `pre_graduation_history` set (that
+    affordance is legacy per-repo only)."""
     from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
     from app import db
 
@@ -501,10 +483,8 @@ def test_pre_graduation_history_surfaces_edit_branch_threads(app_with_fake_gitea
         provision_user_row(user_id=2, login="alice", role="contributor")
         seed_owned_super_draft(fake, slug="ohm", title="OHM",
                                pitch=PITCH, owners=["ben"])
-        # v0.16.0 (item #12): alice needs per-RFC contributor access.
         grant_rfc_collaborator(user_id=2, rfc_slug="ohm", role_in_rfc="contributor")
 
-        # Alice cuts an edit branch and starts chatting on it.
         sign_in_as(client, user_id=2, gitea_login="alice",
                    display_name="Alice", role="contributor")
         branch = client.post("/api/rfcs/ohm/start-edit-branch", json={}).json()["branch_name"]
@@ -513,30 +493,25 @@ def test_pre_graduation_history_surfaces_edit_branch_threads(app_with_fake_gitea
         db.conn().execute(
             """
             INSERT INTO thread_messages (thread_id, role, author_user_id, text)
-            VALUES (?, 'user', 2, 'pre-graduation note on an edit branch')
+            VALUES (?, 'user', 2, 'note on an edit branch')
             """,
             (thread_id,),
         )
 
-        # Ben graduates.
         sign_in_as(client, user_id=1, gitea_login="ben",
                    display_name="Ben", role="owner")
         r = client.post(
             "/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate?_sync=1",
-            json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0100", "repo_name": "rfc-0100-ohm",
+            json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0100", "owners": ["ben"]},
-                  "owners": ["ben"]},
         )
         assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
 
-        # /main on the now-active RFC surfaces the pre-graduation history.
+        d = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/main").json()
-        r = client.get("/api/rfcs/ohm/main")
-        d = r.json()
         assert d["state"] == "active"
-        hist = d["pre_graduation_history"]
+        # The edit branch is a current branch; no pre-graduation hop.
-        assert len(hist) >= 1
+        assert d["pre_graduation_history"] == []
-        assert any(h["branch_name"] == branch for h in hist)
+        assert any(b["name"] == branch for b in d["branches"]), \
-        target = next(h for h in hist if h["branch_name"] == branch)
+            f"edit branch not in branches: {[b['name'] for b in d['branches']]}"
-        assert target["message_count"] >= 1
 
 
 def test_claim_opens_meta_pr(app_with_fake_gitea):
@@ -560,12 +535,10 @@ def test_claim_opens_meta_pr(app_with_fake_gitea):
         d = r.json()
         assert d["branch_name"] == "claim/ohm"
 
-        # The PR body's diff carries Alice in owners.
         text = fake.files[("wiggleverse", "meta", "claim/ohm", "rfcs/ohm.md")]["content"]
         ent = entry_mod.parse(text)
         assert "alice" in ent.owners
 
-        # cached_prs records pr_kind='meta_claim' via refresh_meta_pulls.
         row = db.conn().execute(
             "SELECT pr_kind FROM cached_prs WHERE pr_number = ?", (d["pr_number"],),
         ).fetchone()

backend/tests/test_hygiene_vertical.py

@@ -339,10 +339,10 @@ def test_hygiene_action_kinds_fire_no_notifications(app_with_fake_gitea):
 
 
 def test_graduation_rollback_deletes_dash_suffixed_branch(app_with_fake_gitea):
-    """§19.2 candidate Slice 8 settles: when graduation rolls back
+    """Meta-only (§13.3): when the flip's merge fails after the PR is
-    after step 3 (open_pr), the `graduate-<slug>-<6hex>` branch is
+    open, the orchestrator closes the PR and deletes its
-    deleted alongside the PR close so failed-graduation branches
+    `graduate-<slug>-<6hex>` branch so failed attempts don't accumulate
-    don't accumulate on the meta repo across retries."""
+    on the meta repo across retries."""
     from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
     from app import db
     from app.bot import Bot
@@ -359,24 +359,23 @@ def test_graduation_rollback_deletes_dash_suffixed_branch(app_with_fake_gitea):
         sign_in_as(client, user_id=1, gitea_login="ben",
                    display_name="Ben", role="owner")
 
-        # Force a step-4 (merge_pr) failure so step 3 (open_pr) has
+        # Force a merge_pr failure so the flip PR (open_pr) has already
-        # already landed and the rollback exercises the branch cleanup.
+        # landed and the cleanup exercises the branch deletion.
         orig_merge = Bot.merge_graduation_pr
         async def boom(self, *args, **kwargs):
-            raise GiteaError(502, "simulated merge failure for rollback test")
+            raise GiteaError(502, "simulated merge failure for cleanup test")
         Bot.merge_graduation_pr = boom
         try:
             r = client.post(
                 "/api/rfcs/ohm/graduate?_sync=1",
-                json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0099", "repo_name": "rfc-0099-ohm",
+                json={"rfc_id": "RFC-0099", "owners": ["ben"]},
-                      "owners": ["ben"]},
             )
         finally:
             Bot.merge_graduation_pr = orig_merge
         assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
         assert r.json()["succeeded"] is False
 
-        # The dash-suffixed graduation branch was deleted on rollback.
+        # The dash-suffixed graduation branch was deleted on cleanup.
         meta_branches = fake.branches[("wiggleverse", "meta")]
         graduation_branches = [n for n in meta_branches if n.startswith("graduate-ohm-")]
         assert graduation_branches == [], (

backend/tests/test_propose_vertical.py

@@ -577,6 +577,97 @@ def test_propose_to_super_draft_vertical(app_with_fake_gitea):
         assert ("merge_proposal", "ben") in kinds
 
 
+def test_merged_idea_pr_with_deleted_branch_clears_proposal(app_with_fake_gitea):
+    """Regression: a merged idea PR whose branch was deleted must not
+    linger as a 'pending idea' ghost.
+
+    Found via the ROADMAP #35 operator authoring lane: merging an idea
+    PR from the CLI with `--delete-branch` makes Gitea report the PR's
+    `head.ref` as the synthetic `refs/pull/<N>/head` sentinel instead of
+    `propose/<slug>`. `refresh_meta_pulls` derives the slug from the
+    branch name, so the sentinel parsed to slug=None, the row was skipped,
+    and `cached_prs.state` stayed frozen at 'open' — leaving the entry
+    showing as BOTH a super-draft (cached_rfcs reconciled off the push)
+    AND a pending idea (cached_prs never updated). The fix recovers the
+    original branch name from the already-stored cached_prs row.
+
+    The web UX never tripped this because it leaves the branch in place
+    (the repo's default_delete_branch_after_merge is false).
+
+    The bug only manifests on an out-of-band merge (the PR merged +
+    branch deleted directly in Gitea, with the in-app merge endpoint never
+    reconciling the row while the branch still existed) -- which is exactly
+    what the #35 CLI lane does. An in-app merge reconciles cached_prs to
+    'merged' before the branch is gone, so it never trips this; the test
+    therefore drives the Gitea state directly to reproduce the CLI path.
+    """
+    from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+    from app import db, cache, gitea as gitea_mod
+    from app.config import load_config
+
+    app, fake = app_with_fake_gitea
+
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        provision_user_row(user_id=2, login="alice", role="contributor")
+        sign_in_as(client, user_id=2, gitea_login="alice", display_name="Alice", role="contributor", email="alice@test")
+        r = client.post("/api/rfcs/propose", json={
+            "title": "Informed Consent",
+            "slug": "informed-consent",
+            "pitch": "A first-class definition of consent in OHM.",
+            "tags": [],
+        })
+        assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
+        pr_number = r.json()["pr_number"]
+
+        # The proposal is cached as an open idea PR.
+        items = client.get("/api/proposals").json()["items"]
+        assert any(i["pr_number"] == pr_number for i in items)
+
+        # Out-of-band CLI merge (ROADMAP #35 lane): the PR is merged AND
+        # its branch deleted directly in Gitea, WITHOUT the in-app merge
+        # endpoint ever running. So cached_prs still says state='open' and
+        # Gitea now reports the merged PR's head.ref as the sentinel. This
+        # is the exact state `rfc-authoring.sh pr-merge --delete-branch`
+        # leaves behind.
+        for pr in fake.pulls[("wiggleverse", "meta")]:
+            if pr["number"] == pr_number:
+                # land the file on main (the push side already reconciles
+                # cached_rfcs into a super-draft via the webhook/sweep)
+                for (o, rp, br, p), data in list(fake.files.items()):
+                    if (o, rp, br) == ("wiggleverse", "meta", "propose/informed-consent"):
+                        fake.files[("wiggleverse", "meta", "main", p)] = dict(data)
+                pr["state"] = "closed"
+                pr["merged"] = True
+                pr["merged_at"] = "2026-05-29T12:13:00Z"
+                pr["closed_at"] = "2026-05-29T12:13:00Z"
+                pr["merge_commit_sha"] = fake._next_sha()
+                pr["head"]["ref"] = f"refs/pull/{pr_number}/head"
+        fake.branches[("wiggleverse", "meta")].pop("propose/informed-consent", None)
+
+        # The reconcile sweep runs (a later webhook, or the 5-min safety net).
+        import asyncio
+        cfg = load_config()
+        gclient = gitea_mod.Gitea(cfg)
+        asyncio.run(cache.refresh_meta_repo(cfg, gclient))
+        asyncio.run(cache.refresh_meta_pulls(cfg, gclient))
+
+        # The bug: this used to still list informed-consent (frozen 'open'
+        # row, slug unparseable from the sentinel). The fix recovers the
+        # stored branch name, so the row reconciles to merged and the ghost
+        # is gone.
+        assert client.get("/api/proposals").json()["items"] == []
+
+        # And the cached_prs row is correctly merged, not a frozen 'open'.
+        row = db.conn().execute(
+            "SELECT state FROM cached_prs WHERE pr_number = ?", (pr_number,)
+        ).fetchone()
+        assert row["state"] == "merged", f"expected merged, got {row['state']}"
+
+        # The super-draft itself is unaffected — still in the catalog.
+        items = client.get("/api/rfcs").json()["items"]
+        assert any(i["slug"] == "informed-consent" and i["state"] == "super-draft" for i in items)
+
+
 def test_slug_uniqueness_enforced(app_with_fake_gitea):
     from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
     app, _fake = app_with_fake_gitea

backend/tests/test_rfc_links_vertical.py

@@ -94,6 +94,44 @@ def test_longest_match_wins():
     assert out[-1]["label"] == "Open Human Model"
 
 
+def test_pending_term_emits_contribute_segment():
+    # Part 3: a super-draft match is an `rfc-pending` segment carrying the
+    # owner display name, not a plain link.
+    idx = rfc_links.LinkIndex([
+        rfc_links.Term(key="open human model", kind="pending",
+                       slug="open-human-model", title="Open Human Model", owner="Alice"),
+    ])
+    out = idx.segment("see Open Human Model please")
+    assert out[1] == {
+        "type": "rfc-pending", "slug": "open-human-model",
+        "label": "Open Human Model", "title": "Open Human Model", "owner": "Alice",
+    }
+
+
+def test_candidate_term_emits_create_segment():
+    # Part 2: a candidate term carries its canonical spelling for the
+    # propose pre-fill; no slug (no RFC exists yet).
+    idx = rfc_links.LinkIndex([
+        rfc_links.Term(key="memory model", kind="candidate", term="Memory Model"),
+    ])
+    out = idx.segment("the memory model is unspecified")
+    assert out[1] == {"type": "rfc-candidate", "label": "memory model", "term": "Memory Model"}
+
+
+def test_kind_precedence_active_beats_pending_beats_candidate():
+    # All three buckets contribute the same key; the highest-precedence
+    # kind (active) must win at the position.
+    key = "open human model"
+    idx = rfc_links.LinkIndex([
+        rfc_links.Term(key=key, kind="candidate", term="Open Human Model"),
+        rfc_links.Term(key=key, kind="pending", slug="ohm-draft", title="Open Human Model", owner="A"),
+        rfc_links.Term(key=key, kind="active", slug="open-human-model", title="Open Human Model"),
+    ])
+    out = idx.segment("the Open Human Model")
+    assert out[-1]["type"] == "rfc"
+    assert out[-1]["slug"] == "open-human-model"
+
+
 def test_keys_for_gating():
     keys = lambda **kw: set(rfc_links._keys_for(**kw))
     # rfc_id always contributes.

backend/tests/test_turnstile_vertical.py

@@ -55,13 +55,19 @@ def _outbound_otc_envelopes(to_address: str | None = None) -> list[dict]:
 
 
 def _patch_siteverify(monkeypatch, *, success: bool, error_codes: list[str] | None = None):
-    """Replace `httpx.post` inside `app.turnstile` with a stub that
+    """Replace `turnstile._siteverify_post` with an async stub that
     returns the requested success shape. The stub does not touch the
     real CloudFlare endpoint and never sees a real secret.
+
+    I4 (security-audit-0026): the siteverify call is now awaited on an
+    `httpx.AsyncClient`, isolated behind the `_siteverify_post` seam.
+    Patching that narrow function (rather than the shared
+    `httpx.AsyncClient`, which gitea/docs also construct) keeps app boot
+    intact.
     """
     captured = {}
 
-    def fake_post(url, *, data=None, timeout=None, **kwargs):
+    async def fake_post(url, data):
         captured["url"] = url
         captured["data"] = data
         body = {"success": bool(success)}
@@ -70,7 +76,7 @@ def _patch_siteverify(monkeypatch, *, success: bool, error_codes: list[str] | No
         return SimpleNamespace(json=lambda: body)
 
     from app import turnstile as turnstile_mod
-    monkeypatch.setattr(turnstile_mod.httpx, "post", fake_post)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(turnstile_mod, "_siteverify_post", fake_post)
     return captured
 
 
@@ -170,14 +176,15 @@ def test_otc_request_admits_when_secret_unset_and_not_required(app_with_fake_git
 
     monkeypatch.delenv("CLOUDFLARE_TURNSTILE_SECRET", raising=False)
     monkeypatch.delenv("TURNSTILE_REQUIRED", raising=False)
-    # The httpx.post inside turnstile must not be called in this path —
+    # The siteverify call inside turnstile must not be made in this path —
-    # patch it to a sentinel that explodes if it ever runs.
+    # patch the seam to a sentinel that explodes if it ever runs
+    # (I4: the seam is now `_siteverify_post`, not module-level httpx.post).
     from app import turnstile as turnstile_mod
 
-    def must_not_be_called(*a, **kw):
+    async def must_not_be_called(*a, **kw):
         raise AssertionError("siteverify should not run when no secret is configured")
 
-    monkeypatch.setattr(turnstile_mod.httpx, "post", must_not_be_called)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(turnstile_mod, "_siteverify_post", must_not_be_called)
 
     app, _fake = app_with_fake_gitea
     with TestClient(app) as client:
@@ -218,3 +225,27 @@ def test_otc_request_refuses_when_required_but_secret_unset(app_with_fake_gitea,
         )
         assert r.status_code == 500, r.text
         assert _outbound_otc_envelopes("alice@example.com") == []
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# I4 (security-audit-0026): verify_token is a coroutine — calling it returns
+# an awaitable, not a VerifyOutcome. Locks the async contract so a revert to
+# the synchronous event-loop-blocking shape fails here, not just in the
+# integration paths.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_verify_token_is_async_and_soft_skips_without_secret(monkeypatch):
+    import asyncio
+
+    from app import turnstile as turnstile_mod
+
+    monkeypatch.delenv("CLOUDFLARE_TURNSTILE_SECRET", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.delenv("TURNSTILE_REQUIRED", raising=False)
+
+    coro = turnstile_mod.verify_token("any-token")
+    assert asyncio.iscoroutine(coro), "verify_token must be a coroutine (I4)"
+    outcome = asyncio.run(coro)
+    # No secret + not required → the gate stays open without any network call.
+    assert outcome.ok is True
+    assert outcome.reason == "skipped"

frontend/package.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "rfc-app-frontend",
   "private": true,
-  "version": "0.27.0",
+  "version": "0.31.2",
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "vite",

frontend/src/App.css

@@ -189,9 +189,27 @@
   padding: 32px 48px;
 }
 
-.welcome { max-width: 640px; }
+/* `.main-pane` is the §8 flex shell and carries no padding (the bare
-.welcome h1 { font-size: var(--text-2xl); font-weight: 600; margin: 0 0 16px; }
+   `.main-pane` override below shadows the padded read-view rule), so the
-.welcome p { line-height: 1.7; color: var(--c-gray-600); }
+   welcome surface owns its own breathing room — top offset, comfortable
+   side gutters, and a capped measure for readable line length. */
+.welcome {
+  max-width: 680px;
+  padding: 56px 48px 64px;
+}
+.welcome h1 {
+  font-size: var(--text-3xl); font-weight: 600;
+  letter-spacing: -0.01em;
+  margin: 0 0 var(--space-8);
+}
+.welcome p {
+  font-size: var(--text-lg);
+  line-height: var(--leading-relaxed);
+  color: var(--c-gray-600);
+  margin: 0 0 var(--space-8);
+}
+.welcome p:last-child { margin-bottom: 0; }
+.welcome strong { color: var(--c-gray-800); }
 
 /* --- RFC / Proposal view (read-only for slice 1) --- */
 
@@ -542,7 +560,10 @@
   font-size: var(--text-md); font-weight: 600; text-decoration: none;
 }
 .beta-pending-actions .btn-primary:hover { background: var(--c-gray-700); }
-.btn-link-quiet { color: var(--c-gray-500); text-decoration: none; font-size: var(--text-base); }
+.btn-link-quiet {
+  background: none; border: none; padding: 0; cursor: pointer;
+  color: var(--c-gray-500); text-decoration: none; font-size: var(--text-base);
+}
 .btn-link-quiet:hover { color: var(--c-ink); text-decoration: underline; }
 
 /* v0.8.0 — thin "your beta access is in review" banner. Shown on every
@@ -1365,6 +1386,30 @@
   font-weight: 500;
 }
 .rfc-autolink:hover { text-decoration-style: solid; }
+
+/* #28 Parts 2–3: a matched term that isn't a live link but carries an
+   offer (contribute to a pending RFC / create a new one). The term reads
+   as enriched (dotted underline, no link colour); the offer is a small
+   trailing chip so the prose stays readable. */
+.rfc-pending, .rfc-candidate {
+  text-decoration: underline;
+  text-decoration-style: dotted;
+  text-underline-offset: 2px;
+}
+.rfc-offer {
+  margin-left: 4px;
+  padding: 0 5px;
+  font-size: 0.74em;
+  font-weight: 600;
+  line-height: 1.5;
+  border-radius: 6px;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+  text-decoration: none;
+  border: 1px solid var(--color-border, #ccc);
+  color: var(--color-link);
+}
+.rfc-offer:hover { background: var(--color-surface-alt, rgba(0,0,0,0.04)); }
+.rfc-offer-create { border-style: dashed; }
 .pr-header-edit { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 8px; }
 .pr-header-right {
   display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: flex-end; gap: 8px;
@@ -1583,12 +1628,18 @@
 
 /* ---- §15 / Slice 6: inbox, badge, toasts ---- */
 
+/* Lives on the dark header — so it speaks the nav-link vocabulary
+   (.header-about et al.): borderless, gray-300 icon brightening to white
+   on a faint translucent-white hover. The old light-gray border + gray-50
+   hover were styled for a light surface and rendered as a pale box that
+   went white-on-white (invisible icon) on hover. */
 .inbox-trigger {
-  position: relative; background: transparent; border: 1px solid var(--c-gray-200);
+  position: relative; display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
-  border-radius: var(--radius-md); padding: 4px 10px; cursor: pointer; font-size: var(--text-lg);
+  background: transparent; border: none;
-  margin-right: 12px;
+  color: var(--c-gray-300); cursor: pointer;
+  padding: 5px 8px; border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
 }
-.inbox-trigger:hover { background: var(--c-gray-50); }
+.inbox-trigger:hover { color: var(--c-white); background: rgba(255,255,255,0.08); }
 .inbox-trigger .badge {
   position: absolute; top: -6px; right: -6px;
   background: #dc2626; color: white; font-size: var(--text-2xs);
@@ -1832,7 +1883,7 @@
 }
 .settings-table th, .admin-table th {
   text-align: left; padding: 6px 8px;
-  font-size: var(--text-xs); text-transform: uppercase;
+  font-size: var(--text-xs); text-transform: uppercase; white-space: nowrap;
   color: var(--c-gray-500); letter-spacing: 0.05em; font-weight: 600;
   border-bottom: 1px solid var(--c-gray-200);
 }
@@ -1913,7 +1964,21 @@
 .admin-tab-header h2 {
   margin: 0 0 4px; font-size: var(--text-xl); font-weight: 700;
 }
-.admin-tab-header p { margin: 0 0 24px; font-size: var(--text-base); }
+.admin-tab-header p { margin: 0 0 24px; font-size: var(--text-base); max-width: 70ch; line-height: var(--leading-normal); }
+/* Title row: heading on the left, primary action flush right. */
+.admin-tab-heading {
+  display: flex; align-items: flex-start; justify-content: space-between;
+  gap: var(--space-7); margin-bottom: var(--space-2);
+}
+.admin-tab-heading h2 { margin: 0; }
+.admin-tab-actions { flex-shrink: 0; }
+/* Inline DB-column references in admin copy read as quiet chips, not raw
+   monospace runs jammed against the sans body. */
+.admin-tab-header code {
+  font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: var(--text-sm);
+  background: var(--c-gray-100); color: var(--c-gray-700);
+  padding: 1px 5px; border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
+}
 .admin-section-h {
   font-size: var(--text-base); text-transform: uppercase;
   letter-spacing: 0.05em; color: var(--c-gray-500);
@@ -1953,8 +2018,23 @@
 .allowlist-add .btn-primary:hover:not(:disabled) { background: var(--c-gray-700); }
 .allowlist-add .btn-primary:disabled { opacity: 0.5; cursor: not-allowed; }
 
-.user-cell { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 1px; }
+.user-cell { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 2px; }
+.user-cell-handle { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: var(--space-3); flex-wrap: wrap; }
 .user-handle { font-weight: 500; color: var(--c-gray-900); }
+/* "(pending invite)" — an unclaimed admin-created row. A quiet amber pill
+   so the admin spots it at a glance without it shouting. */
+.invite-badge {
+  font-size: var(--text-2xs); font-weight: 600;
+  text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.04em;
+  padding: 1px 6px; border-radius: var(--radius-pill);
+  background: var(--c-warning-bg); color: var(--c-warning-fg);
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+/* Timestamps: an intentional date-over-time stack rather than a ragged
+   mid-value wrap. nowrap keeps each line whole. */
+.user-when { white-space: nowrap; }
+.user-when-date { display: block; color: var(--c-gray-700); }
+.user-when-time { display: block; font-size: var(--text-xs); }
 .mute-toggle {
   display: inline-flex; align-items: center; gap: 6px;
   font-size: var(--text-base); cursor: pointer;

frontend/src/App.jsx

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
-import { Routes, Route, Link, Navigate, useLocation, useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom'
+import { Routes, Route, Link, Navigate, useLocation, useNavigate, useSearchParams } from 'react-router-dom'
 import { getMe, subscribeToNotifications } from './api'
 import { anonymize, EVENTS, identify, track } from './lib/analytics'
 import { useLastState } from './lib/useLastState'
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import RFCView from './components/RFCView.jsx'
 import PRView from './components/PRView.jsx'
 import ProposalView from './components/ProposalView.jsx'
 import ProposeModal from './components/ProposeModal.jsx'
+import ContributeRequestForm from './components/ContributeRequestForm.jsx'
 import Landing from './components/Landing.jsx'
 import Login from './components/Login.jsx'
 import BetaPending from './components/BetaPending.jsx'
@@ -51,6 +52,19 @@ export default function App() {
   const [identifyReady, setIdentifyReady] = useState(false)
   const navigate = useNavigate()
   const location = useLocation()
+  // #28 Parts 2–3: the LinkedText create/contribute affordances route via
+  // query params so they need no prop-threading from deep in a comment
+  // list. `?propose=<term>` opens the propose modal pre-filled;
+  // `?contribute=<slug>&term=<term>` opens the contribute-request form.
+  const [searchParams, setSearchParams] = useSearchParams()
+  const proposeParam = searchParams.get('propose')
+  const contributeSlug = searchParams.get('contribute')
+  const contributeTerm = searchParams.get('term')
+  const clearParams = (...keys) => {
+    const next = new URLSearchParams(searchParams)
+    keys.forEach(k => next.delete(k))
+    setSearchParams(next, { replace: true })
+  }
   // v0.15.0 — Page Viewed event taxonomy. We fire on every
   // route change; the analytics wrapper itself decides whether
   // anything ships out (consent + key check). The first fire is
@@ -199,7 +213,7 @@ export default function App() {
               wonders why a conversation is public can reach the answer
               in two clicks. Anonymous viewers see it too. */}
           <Link to="/philosophy" className="header-about" title="Why this exists (§14)">
-            Philosophy
+            About
           </Link>
           <Link to="/docs" className="header-about" title="User guide">
             Docs
@@ -313,17 +327,26 @@ export default function App() {
           } />
         </Routes>
       </div>
-      {proposeOpen && viewer && (
+      {(proposeOpen || proposeParam != null) && viewer && (
         <ProposeModal
           viewer={viewer}
-          onClose={() => setProposeOpen(false)}
+          initialTitle={proposeParam || ''}
+          onClose={() => { setProposeOpen(false); clearParams('propose') }}
           onSubmitted={({ pr_number }) => {
             setProposeOpen(false)
+            clearParams('propose')
             setCatalogVersion(v => v + 1)
             navigate(`/proposals/${pr_number}`)
           }}
         />
       )}
+      {contributeSlug && viewer && (
+        <ContributeRequestForm
+          slug={contributeSlug}
+          term={contributeTerm || ''}
+          onClose={() => clearParams('contribute', 'term')}
+        />
+      )}
       {inboxOpen && viewer && (
         <Inbox onClose={() => setInboxOpen(false)} lastChangeTick={inboxTick} />
       )}

frontend/src/api.js

@@ -226,6 +226,40 @@ export async function suggestTags({ title, pitch, useCase }) {
   }
 }
 
+// Roadmap #28 Part 3: offer-to-contribute-to-a-pending-RFC.
+// `contributionTarget` feeds the contribute form (RFC title, owner
+// display, the viewer's eligibility); `requestContribution` submits the
+// ask; accept/decline are the owner's inbox actions.
+export async function contributionTarget(slug) {
+  return jsonOrThrow(await fetch(`/api/rfcs/${slug}/contribution-target`))
+}
+
+export async function requestContribution(slug, { matchedTerm, whoIAm, why, useCase }) {
+  const res = await fetch(`/api/rfcs/${slug}/contribution-requests`, {
+    method: 'POST',
+    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+    body: JSON.stringify({
+      matched_term: matchedTerm,
+      who_i_am: whoIAm,
+      why,
+      use_case: useCase || null,
+    }),
+  })
+  return jsonOrThrow(res)
+}
+
+export async function acceptContributionRequest(slug, requestId) {
+  return jsonOrThrow(await fetch(
+    `/api/rfcs/${slug}/contribution-requests/${requestId}/accept`, { method: 'POST' },
+  ))
+}
+
+export async function declineContributionRequest(slug, requestId) {
+  return jsonOrThrow(await fetch(
+    `/api/rfcs/${slug}/contribution-requests/${requestId}/decline`, { method: 'POST' },
+  ))
+}
+
 export async function mergeProposal(prNumber) {
   const res = await fetch(`/api/proposals/${prNumber}/merge`, { method: 'POST' })
   return jsonOrThrow(res)
@@ -496,18 +530,19 @@ export async function listBlockingPRs(slug) {
   return jsonOrThrow(await fetch(`/api/rfcs/${slug}/blocking-prs`))
 }
 
-export async function graduateCheck(slug, { id, repo }) {
+export async function graduateCheck(slug, { id }) {
+  // Meta-only topology (§13.2): two fields — integer id + owners. No
+  // repo name to validate.
   const params = new URLSearchParams()
   if (id != null) params.set('id', id)
-  if (repo != null) params.set('repo', repo)
   return jsonOrThrow(await fetch(`/api/rfcs/${slug}/graduate/check?${params}`))
 }
 
-export async function startGraduation(slug, { rfcId, repoName, owners }) {
+export async function startGraduation(slug, { rfcId, owners }) {
   const res = await fetch(`/api/rfcs/${slug}/graduate`, {
     method: 'POST',
     headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
-    body: JSON.stringify({ rfc_id: rfcId, repo_name: repoName, owners }),
+    body: JSON.stringify({ rfc_id: rfcId, owners }),
   })
   return jsonOrThrow(res)
 }

frontend/src/components/Admin.jsx

@@ -181,7 +181,20 @@ function UsersTab() {
   return (
     <div className="admin-tab">
       <header className="admin-tab-header">
-        <h2>Users</h2>
+        <div className="admin-tab-heading">
+          <h2>Users</h2>
+          {/* v0.17.0 — roadmap item #16. The "Create user + invite"
+              affordance opens a modal that provisions a fresh users row
+              with the chosen role and sends an invite email with a
+              single-use claim link. */}
+          <div className="admin-tab-actions">
+            <button
+              type="button"
+              className="btn-primary"
+              onClick={() => setInviteModalOpen(true)}
+            >Create user + invite</button>
+          </div>
+        </div>
         <p className="muted">
           The pending bucket is the beta-access review queue (§6.1 /
           v0.8.0). Grant or revoke writes to <code>permission_events</code>
@@ -190,17 +203,6 @@ function UsersTab() {
           retain their v0.7.0 semantics — promote to admin to remove a
           user's ability to write without silencing them.
         </p>
-        {/* v0.17.0 — roadmap item #16. The "Create user + invite"
-            affordance opens a modal that provisions a fresh users row
-            with the chosen role and sends an invite email with a
-            single-use claim link. */}
-        <div className="admin-tab-actions">
-          <button
-            type="button"
-            className="btn-primary"
-            onClick={() => setInviteModalOpen(true)}
-          >Create user + invite</button>
-        </div>
       </header>
       {error && <p className="settings-note warning">{error}</p>}
       {inviteModalOpen && (
@@ -270,21 +272,27 @@ function UserRow({ user: u, busy, onChangeRole, onToggleMute, onFlipPermission }
   // the admin sees at a glance which rows are real users vs. unclaimed
   // invites.
   const pendingInvite = u.pending_invite
+  // When there's no gitea_login the handle already IS the email, so the
+  // subline would otherwise repeat it. Only append the email when it adds
+  // something the handle doesn't already show.
+  const showEmail = u.email && u.email !== handle
   return (
     <>
       <tr>
         <td>
           <div className="user-cell">
-            <span className="user-handle">{handle}</span>
+            <div className="user-cell-handle">
-            {pendingInvite && (
+              <span className="user-handle">{handle}</span>
-              <span
+              {pendingInvite && (
-                className="invite-badge"
+                <span
-                title={`Admin-created invite; expires ${pendingInvite.expires_at}`}
+                  className="invite-badge"
-              >(pending invite)</span>
+                  title={`Admin-created invite; expires ${pendingInvite.expires_at}`}
-            )}
+                >pending invite</span>
+              )}
+            </div>
             <span className="muted">
               {fullName || u.display_name}
-              {u.email ? ` · ${u.email}` : ''}
+              {showEmail ? ` · ${u.email}` : ''}
             </span>
           </div>
         </td>
@@ -317,8 +325,8 @@ function UserRow({ user: u, busy, onChangeRole, onToggleMute, onFlipPermission }
             <span className="muted">N/A</span>
           )}
         </td>
-        <td className="muted">{u.created_at || '—'}</td>
+        <TimeCell value={u.created_at} />
-        <td className="muted">{u.last_seen_at || '—'}</td>
+        <TimeCell value={u.last_seen_at} />
       </tr>
       {state === 'pending' && u.beta_request_reason ? (
         <tr className="user-row-reason">
@@ -334,6 +342,21 @@ function UserRow({ user: u, busy, onChangeRole, onToggleMute, onFlipPermission }
   )
 }
 
+// Render a "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS" timestamp as an intentional date-over-time
+// stack (date prominent, time quiet below) rather than letting a narrow
+// column wrap the value mid-string. Falls back to an em-dash when absent.
+function TimeCell({ value }) {
+  if (!value) return <td className="muted">—</td>
+  const [date, ...rest] = String(value).split(' ')
+  const time = rest.join(' ')
+  return (
+    <td className="user-when">
+      <span className="user-when-date">{date}</span>
+      {time && <span className="user-when-time muted">{time}</span>}
+    </td>
+  )
+}
+
 function PermissionCell({ user: u, busy, onFlipPermission }) {
   const state = u.permission_state || 'granted'
   const decidedSuffix = u.permission_decided_at

frontend/src/components/ContributeRequestForm.jsx

@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+// ContributeRequestForm.jsx — roadmap #28 Part 3.
+//
+// The "ask to contribute" popover, opened from an `rfc-pending` affordance
+// in LinkedText (App reads `?contribute=<slug>&term=<term>`). It loads the
+// contribution target (RFC title + owner display + the viewer's
+// eligibility), shows the framing line "<owner> is working on an RFC for
+// '<term>'", and collects the three #15/#26-vocabulary fields:
+//
+//   * Who I am          (required, free-text)
+//   * Why I'm asking    (required, free-text)
+//   * What I'd use it for (optional, mirrors #26)
+//
+// Submitting POSTs the request, which lands in each owner's §15 inbox.
+// When the viewer isn't eligible (anonymous, already a collaborator, or
+// has a pending ask) the form shows the backend's reason instead.
+
+import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
+import { contributionTarget, requestContribution } from '../api'
+
+export default function ContributeRequestForm({ slug, term, onClose }) {
+  const [target, setTarget] = useState(null)
+  const [loadError, setLoadError] = useState(null)
+  const [whoIAm, setWhoIAm] = useState('')
+  const [why, setWhy] = useState('')
+  const [useCase, setUseCase] = useState('')
+  const [submitting, setSubmitting] = useState(false)
+  const [error, setError] = useState(null)
+  const [done, setDone] = useState(false)
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    let live = true
+    contributionTarget(slug)
+      .then(t => { if (live) setTarget(t) })
+      .catch(err => { if (live) setLoadError(err.message || 'Could not load this RFC.') })
+    return () => { live = false }
+  }, [slug])
+
+  async function handleSubmit(e) {
+    e.preventDefault()
+    if (!whoIAm.trim() || !why.trim()) return
+    setSubmitting(true)
+    setError(null)
+    try {
+      await requestContribution(slug, {
+        matchedTerm: term || target?.title || slug,
+        whoIAm: whoIAm.trim(),
+        why: why.trim(),
+        useCase: useCase.trim() || null,
+      })
+      setDone(true)
+    } catch (err) {
+      setError(err.message || 'Could not send your request.')
+    } finally {
+      setSubmitting(false)
+    }
+  }
+
+  const owner = target?.owner || 'The owner'
+  const label = term || target?.title || slug
+
+  return (
+    <div className="modal-overlay" onClick={e => { if (e.target === e.currentTarget) onClose() }}>
+      <div className="modal">
+        <div className="modal-header">
+          <h2>Ask to contribute</h2>
+          <button className="modal-close" onClick={onClose}>×</button>
+        </div>
+
+        {loadError && (
+          <div className="modal-body"><p className="field-error">{loadError}</p></div>
+        )}
+
+        {!loadError && done && (
+          <>
+            <div className="modal-body">
+              <p>
+                Your request has been sent to <strong>{owner}</strong>. You'll hear back
+                in your inbox; if it's accepted you'll get an invitation by email to
+                join the RFC.
+              </p>
+            </div>
+            <div className="modal-actions">
+              <button type="button" className="btn-primary" onClick={onClose}>Done</button>
+            </div>
+          </>
+        )}
+
+        {!loadError && !done && target && !target.eligible && (
+          <>
+            <div className="modal-body">
+              <p className="field-help" style={{ marginTop: 0 }}>
+                {owner} is working on an RFC for <strong>'{label}'</strong>.
+              </p>
+              <p>{target.already_requested
+                ? "You've already asked to contribute to this RFC — the owner has your request."
+                : (target.reason || 'You cannot ask to contribute to this RFC right now.')}</p>
+            </div>
+            <div className="modal-actions">
+              <button type="button" className="btn-secondary" onClick={onClose}>Close</button>
+            </div>
+          </>
+        )}
+
+        {!loadError && !done && target && target.eligible && (
+          <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
+            <div className="modal-body">
+              <p className="field-help" style={{ marginTop: 0 }}>
+                <strong>{owner}</strong> is working on an RFC for <strong>'{label}'</strong>.
+                Tell them a little about why you'd like to contribute.
+              </p>
+
+              <label htmlFor="contribute-who">Who I am</label>
+              <textarea
+                id="contribute-who"
+                value={whoIAm}
+                onChange={e => setWhoIAm(e.target.value)}
+                placeholder="Your name and a sentence of context."
+                rows={2}
+                autoFocus
+                required
+              />
+
+              <label htmlFor="contribute-why">Why I'm asking to contribute</label>
+              <textarea
+                id="contribute-why"
+                value={why}
+                onChange={e => setWhy(e.target.value)}
+                placeholder="What you'd bring, or what draws you to this RFC."
+                rows={3}
+                required
+              />
+
+              <label htmlFor="contribute-use-case">What I'd use the RFC for (optional)</label>
+              <textarea
+                id="contribute-use-case"
+                value={useCase}
+                onChange={e => setUseCase(e.target.value)}
+                placeholder="The concrete thing you intend to build or do with it. Optional."
+                rows={2}
+              />
+
+              {error && <p className="field-error">{error}</p>}
+            </div>
+            <div className="modal-actions">
+              <button type="button" className="btn-secondary" onClick={onClose}>Cancel</button>
+              <button
+                type="submit"
+                className="btn-primary"
+                disabled={!whoIAm.trim() || !why.trim() || submitting}
+              >
+                {submitting ? 'Sending…' : 'Send request'}
+              </button>
+            </div>
+          </form>
+        )}
+
+        {!loadError && !done && !target && (
+          <div className="modal-body"><p className="field-help">Loading…</p></div>
+        )}
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  )
+}

frontend/src/components/GraduateDialog.jsx

@@ -1,70 +1,55 @@
-// GraduateDialog.jsx — the §13.2 Graduate dialog and the §13.3 step stack.
+// GraduateDialog.jsx — the §13.2 Graduate dialog and the §13.3 flip.
 //
-// Renders three editable fields (integer ID, repo name, initial owners)
+// Meta-only topology (SPEC §1): graduation is an in-place state flip on
-// with debounced server-side validation per §13.2 and a precondition
+// the meta entry — no per-RFC repo is created and the body is kept. The
-// popover backed by /blocking-prs for the §9.8 open-body-edit-PR gate.
+// dialog renders two editable fields (integer ID + initial owners) with
-//
+// debounced server-side validation per §13.2. On confirm it opens the
-// On confirm, opens the §13.3 SSE stream and renders the five named
+// §13.3 SSE stream and renders the two named steps (open the flip PR,
-// steps with per-step states. On failure, the rollback step's events
+// merge it). There is no rollback step and no repo-name field.
-// append to the stack and a "What happened" panel renders below until
-// the admin dismisses it.
 
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 import {
   graduateCheck,
-  listBlockingPRs,
   openGraduationProgress,
   startGraduation,
 } from '../api'
 
 const CHECK_DEBOUNCE_MS = 250
 
-const STEP_KEY_ORDER = ['create_repo', 'seed_files', 'open_pr', 'merge_pr', 'refresh_cache']
+const STEP_KEY_ORDER = ['open_pr', 'merge_pr']
 
 export default function GraduateDialog({ slug, entry, onClose, onCompleted }) {
   // Suggest defaults from the catalog.
   const suggestedId = useMemo(() => suggestNextRfcId(entry?.allKnownIds || []), [entry])
   const [rfcId, setRfcId] = useState(suggestedId)
-  const [repoName, setRepoName] = useState(`rfc-${stripPrefix(suggestedId)}-${slug}`)
   const [owners, setOwners] = useState(entry?.owners?.length ? entry.owners : [])
   const [newOwner, setNewOwner] = useState('')
 
   const [checkResult, setCheckResult] = useState(null)
-  const [blockingPRs, setBlockingPRs] = useState([])
+  const [phase, setPhase] = useState('idle')  // idle | running | done | failed | error
-  const [precondPopover, setPrecondPopover] = useState(false)
-  const [phase, setPhase] = useState('idle')  // idle | running | done | rolled_back | error
   const [streamState, setStreamState] = useState(null)
   const [submitError, setSubmitError] = useState(null)
 
   const esRef = useRef(null)
 
-  // Initial blocking-PRs probe + ongoing /check polling.
-  useEffect(() => {
-    listBlockingPRs(slug).then(({ items }) => setBlockingPRs(items || [])).catch(() => {})
-  }, [slug])
-
   useEffect(() => {
     const t = setTimeout(() => {
-      graduateCheck(slug, { id: rfcId, repo: repoName })
+      graduateCheck(slug, { id: rfcId })
         .then(setCheckResult)
         .catch(() => {})
     }, CHECK_DEBOUNCE_MS)
     return () => clearTimeout(t)
-  }, [slug, rfcId, repoName])
+  }, [slug, rfcId])
 
   useEffect(() => () => { esRef.current?.close() }, [])
 
   const idError = checkResult?.id?.error || null
-  const repoError = checkResult?.repo?.error || null
   const ownersOk = owners.length > 0
   const ownersError = ownersOk ? null : 'Add at least one initial owner'
-  const blockingError = blockingPRs.length > 0
-    ? `${blockingPRs.length} open body-edit PR${blockingPRs.length === 1 ? '' : 's'} blocking graduation`
-    : null
 
   // First-blocker tooltip text per §13.2.
-  const firstBlocker = idError || repoError || ownersError || blockingError
+  const firstBlocker = idError || ownersError
-  const canSubmit = !firstBlocker && phase === 'idle' && checkResult?.id?.ok && checkResult?.repo?.ok
+  const canSubmit = !firstBlocker && phase === 'idle' && checkResult?.id?.ok && ownersOk
 
   const handleAddOwner = useCallback(() => {
     const v = newOwner.trim().toLowerCase()
@@ -81,7 +66,7 @@ export default function GraduateDialog({ slug, entry, onClose, onCompleted }) {
     setSubmitError(null)
     setPhase('running')
     try {
-      await startGraduation(slug, { rfcId, repoName, owners })
+      await startGraduation(slug, { rfcId, owners })
     } catch (err) {
       setPhase('idle')
       setSubmitError(err.message)
@@ -96,7 +81,7 @@ export default function GraduateDialog({ slug, entry, onClose, onCompleted }) {
             // Short hold per §13.3, then dismiss.
             setTimeout(() => onCompleted?.(payload), 1500)
           } else {
-            setPhase('rolled_back')
+            setPhase('failed')
           }
         }
       },
@@ -105,7 +90,7 @@ export default function GraduateDialog({ slug, entry, onClose, onCompleted }) {
         setPhase('error')
       },
     })
-  }, [slug, rfcId, repoName, owners, onCompleted])
+  }, [slug, rfcId, owners, onCompleted])
 
   // ----- Render -----
 
@@ -122,10 +107,10 @@ export default function GraduateDialog({ slug, entry, onClose, onCompleted }) {
         {!showStack && (
           <div className="modal-body">
             <p className="modal-intro">
-              §13: graduate the super-draft to its own repo. The meta-repo entry
+              §13: graduate the super-draft to active. This is an in-place
-              becomes frontmatter-only; the canonical body moves to `RFC.md` in
+              state flip — the entry keeps its body and stays in the meta
-              the new repo. The sequence runs as five transactional steps with
+              repo; only the frontmatter changes (state, integer ID, and the
-              rollback per §13.3.
+              graduation stamps). No new repository is created.
             </p>
 
             <div className="form-row">
@@ -141,19 +126,6 @@ export default function GraduateDialog({ slug, entry, onClose, onCompleted }) {
               {idError && <p className="field-error">{idError}</p>}
             </div>
 
-            <div className="form-row">
-              <label>Repo name</label>
-              <input
-                type="text"
-                value={repoName}
-                onChange={(e) => setRepoName(e.target.value.trim())}
-                placeholder="rfc-NNNN-slug"
-                disabled={phase !== 'idle'}
-              />
-              <p className="field-help">Becomes `&lt;org&gt;/{repoName || 'rfc-…'}` on Gitea.</p>
-              {repoError && <p className="field-error">{repoError}</p>}
-            </div>
-
             <div className="form-row">
               <label>Initial owners</label>
               <div className="owner-list">
@@ -189,68 +161,24 @@ export default function GraduateDialog({ slug, entry, onClose, onCompleted }) {
               </div>
               {ownersError && <p className="field-error">{ownersError}</p>}
             </div>
-
-            {blockingPRs.length > 0 && (
-              <div className="precondition-block">
-                <button
-                  type="button"
-                  className="precondition-toggle"
-                  onClick={() => setPrecondPopover(p => !p)}
-                >
-                  {blockingPRs.length} open body-edit PR{blockingPRs.length === 1 ? '' : 's'} blocking graduation
-                  &nbsp;{precondPopover ? '▾' : '▸'}
-                </button>
-                {precondPopover && (
-                  <div className="precondition-popover">
-                    {blockingPRs.map(pr => (
-                      <div key={pr.pr_number} className="precondition-row">
-                        <div className="precondition-row-main">
-                          <strong>PR #{pr.pr_number}</strong> — {pr.title || '(no title)'}
-                          <div className="precondition-row-meta">
-                            {pr.author ? `by @${pr.author}` : ''}
-                            {pr.last_activity_at ? ` · ${pr.last_activity_at.slice(0, 10)}` : ''}
-                          </div>
-                        </div>
-                        <div className="precondition-row-actions">
-                          <a
-                            className="btn-link"
-                            href={`/rfc/${slug}/pr/${pr.pr_number}`}
-                            target="_blank"
-                            rel="noreferrer"
-                          >Open ↗</a>
-                        </div>
-                      </div>
-                    ))}
-                    <p className="precondition-help">
-                      §9.8: open body-edit PRs would attempt to re-introduce a
-                      body to a frontmatter-only entry after step 3. Resolve
-                      them (merge or withdraw) and re-open this dialog.
-                    </p>
-                  </div>
-                )}
-              </div>
-            )}
           </div>
         )}
 
         {showStack && (
           <div className="modal-body">
-            <StepStack
+            <StepStack steps={streamState?.steps || []} />
-              steps={streamState?.steps || []}
+            {phase === 'failed' && (
-              rollbackSteps={streamState?.rollback_steps || []}
-            />
-            {phase === 'rolled_back' && (
               <div className="what-happened">
                 <h3>What happened</h3>
                 <p>
-                  The graduation could not complete. The app rolled back the
+                  The graduation could not complete. Because it is a single
-                  steps that had already run; nothing was left half-applied on
+                  in-place flip, nothing was left half-applied — `{slug}` stays
-                  Gitea. Error: <code>{streamState?.error || 'unknown'}</code>.
+                  a super-draft. Error: <code>{streamState?.error || 'unknown'}</code>.
                 </p>
                 <p>
-                  Read the failure detail next to the red step above. Resolve
+                  Read the failure detail next to the red step above, resolve
-                  the underlying cause (a repo-name collision, a network flake,
+                  the underlying cause (a concurrent PR landing on{' '}
-                  a concurrent PR landing on `rfcs/{slug}.md`) and try again.
+                  `rfcs/{slug}.md`, a network flake), and try again.
                 </p>
               </div>
             )}
@@ -258,9 +186,8 @@ export default function GraduateDialog({ slug, entry, onClose, onCompleted }) {
               <div className="graduation-complete">
                 <h3>Graduation complete</h3>
                 <p>
-                  `{slug}` is now active as <strong>{streamState?.rfc_id}</strong>{' '}
+                  `{slug}` is now active as <strong>{streamState?.rfc_id}</strong>.
-                  at <code>{streamState?.repo_full}</code>. The catalog and the
+                  The catalog and the RFC view reflect the new state.
-                  RFC view reflect the new state.
                 </p>
               </div>
             )}
@@ -277,23 +204,23 @@ export default function GraduateDialog({ slug, entry, onClose, onCompleted }) {
                 disabled={!canSubmit}
                 title={canSubmit ? '' : firstBlocker || ''}
               >
-                Graduate to RFC repo
+                Graduate
               </button>
             </>
           )}
           {phase === 'running' && (
-            <span className="modal-progress-note">Running graduation sequence…</span>
+            <span className="modal-progress-note">Graduating…</span>
           )}
-          {(phase === 'rolled_back' || phase === 'error') && (
+          {(phase === 'failed' || phase === 'error') && (
             <button className="btn-secondary" onClick={onClose}>Close</button>
           )}
           {phase === 'done' && (
             <button className="btn-primary" onClick={() => onCompleted?.(streamState)}>
-              View the new RFC
+              View the RFC
             </button>
           )}
         </div>
-        {submitError && phase !== 'rolled_back' && (
+        {submitError && phase !== 'failed' && (
           <div className="modal-error">Error: {submitError}</div>
         )}
       </div>
@@ -302,14 +229,10 @@ export default function GraduateDialog({ slug, entry, onClose, onCompleted }) {
 }
 
 
-function StepStack({ steps, rollbackSteps }) {
+function StepStack({ steps }) {
   return (
     <div className="step-stack">
       {steps.map(s => <StepRow key={s.key} step={s} />)}
-      {rollbackSteps.length > 0 && (
-        <div className="rollback-divider">Rollback</div>
-      )}
-      {rollbackSteps.map(s => <StepRow key={s.key} step={s} />)}
     </div>
   )
 }
@@ -350,8 +273,3 @@ function suggestNextRfcId(existing) {
   const next = used.size === 0 ? 1 : (Math.max(...used) + 1)
   return `RFC-${String(next).padStart(4, '0')}`
 }
-
-
-function stripPrefix(rfcId) {
-  return rfcId?.startsWith('RFC-') ? rfcId.slice(4) : rfcId
-}

frontend/src/components/Inbox.css

@@ -126,3 +126,13 @@
   line-height: var(--leading-normal);
   color: var(--color-text-muted);
 }
+
+/* #28 Part 3 — actionable contribute-request row: the requester's
+   who/why/use-case detail plus an Accept/Decline pair. */
+.inbox-row-action { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 8px; padding: 12px; }
+.inbox-row-action .inbox-row-main { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 8px; }
+.inbox-request-detail { margin-left: 18px; font-size: var(--text-sm); }
+.inbox-request-detail p { margin: 2px 0; color: var(--color-text-muted); }
+.inbox-request-detail strong { color: var(--color-text); }
+.inbox-request-actions { display: flex; gap: 8px; margin-left: 18px; }
+.inbox-request-outcome { margin: 0 0 0 18px; }

frontend/src/components/Inbox.jsx

@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react'
 import { Link } from 'react-router-dom'
 import {
+  acceptContributionRequest,
+  declineContributionRequest,
   listNotifications,
   markNotificationRead,
   markNotificationsReadByFilter,
@@ -164,7 +166,71 @@ export default function Inbox({ onClose, lastChangeTick }) {
   )
 }
 
+// #28 Part 3: the contribute-request row is the first actionable inbox
+// kind — it renders the requester's who/why/use-case inline and an
+// Accept/Decline pair that fire the owner's decision (accept reuses #12's
+// invite flow on the backend).
+function ContributionRequestRow({ item, onMarkRead }) {
+  const unread = !item.read_at
+  const x = item.extras || {}
+  const [outcome, setOutcome] = useState(null)   // 'accepted' | 'declined'
+  const [busy, setBusy] = useState(false)
+  const [error, setError] = useState(null)
+
+  async function act(accept) {
+    if (busy || outcome) return
+    setBusy(true)
+    setError(null)
+    try {
+      if (accept) await acceptContributionRequest(item.rfc_slug, x.request_id)
+      else await declineContributionRequest(item.rfc_slug, x.request_id)
+      setOutcome(accept ? 'accepted' : 'declined')
+      await onMarkRead(item)
+    } catch (err) {
+      setError(err.message || 'Action failed.')
+    } finally {
+      setBusy(false)
+    }
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <li className={`inbox-row inbox-row-action ${unread ? 'unread' : 'read'}`}>
+      <div className="inbox-row-main">
+        <span className="inbox-unread-dot" aria-hidden />
+        <span className={`inbox-cat cat-${item.category || 'unknown'}`}>{item.category || '·'}</span>
+        <span className="inbox-summary">{item.summary}</span>
+        <span className="inbox-when">{formatWhen(item.created_at)}</span>
+      </div>
+      <div className="inbox-request-detail">
+        {x.who_i_am && <p><strong>Who:</strong> {x.who_i_am}</p>}
+        {x.why && <p><strong>Why:</strong> {x.why}</p>}
+        {x.use_case && <p><strong>Use case:</strong> {x.use_case}</p>}
+      </div>
+      {error && <p className="field-error">{error}</p>}
+      {outcome ? (
+        <p className="inbox-request-outcome muted">
+          {outcome === 'accepted'
+            ? 'Accepted — an invitation has been sent.'
+            : 'Declined.'}
+        </p>
+      ) : (
+        <div className="inbox-request-actions">
+          <button type="button" className="btn-primary" disabled={busy || !x.request_id} onClick={() => act(true)}>
+            Accept
+          </button>
+          <button type="button" className="btn-secondary" disabled={busy || !x.request_id} onClick={() => act(false)}>
+            Decline
+          </button>
+        </div>
+      )}
+    </li>
+  )
+}
+
 function InboxRow({ item, onClick, onMarkRead, onClose }) {
+  if (item.event_kind === 'contribution_request_on_pending_rfc') {
+    return <ContributionRequestRow item={item} onMarkRead={onMarkRead} />
+  }
   const unread = !item.read_at
   const target = deepLink(item)
   const handle = async () => {

frontend/src/components/LinkedText.jsx

@@ -1,21 +1,40 @@
-// LinkedText.jsx — roadmap #28 Part 1.
+// LinkedText.jsx — roadmap #28 (Parts 1–3).
 //
-// Renders a backend-provided list of text/rfc-link segments (see
+// Renders a backend-provided list of text/link segments (see
-// backend/app/rfc_links.py). RFC references in PR descriptions and
+// backend/app/rfc_links.py). References in PR descriptions and comments
-// comments arrive pre-scanned as structured segments — this component
+// arrive pre-scanned as structured segments — this component maps them
-// maps them onto plain text runs and anchor elements. It never renders
+// onto plain text runs, anchors, and inline affordances. It never renders
 // HTML from the server (no dangerouslySetInnerHTML), so the surface is
 // XSS-safe regardless of what a comment author typed.
 //
+// Segment types:
+//   * `rfc`           — Part 1: a link to an accepted (active) RFC.
+//   * `rfc-pending`   — Part 3: the term names a pending (super-draft)
+//                       RFC; a signed-in viewer who isn't its owner gets
+//                       an inline "ask to contribute" affordance routing
+//                       to the contribute form (App reads `?contribute=`).
+//   * `rfc-candidate` — Part 2: a strong-candidate term with no RFC yet;
+//                       a viewer with create rights (`canCreate`) gets a
+//                       "create RFC" affordance routing to the propose
+//                       flow pre-filled (App reads `?propose=`).
+//
+// Affordances degrade to plain text when the viewer lacks the relevant
+// right, so the visible prose is identical for everyone — only the
+// offered actions differ.
+//
 // `segments` is the enriched array; `text` is the raw fallback used when
 // the field is absent (an older cached response, or a caller that didn't
-// pass segments). Either way the visible text is identical — only the
+// pass segments).
-// links differ.
 
-export default function LinkedText({ segments, text }) {
+import { Link } from 'react-router-dom'
+
+export default function LinkedText({ segments, text, viewer, canCreate }) {
   if (!Array.isArray(segments) || segments.length === 0) {
     return <>{text ?? ''}</>
   }
+  // A signed-in, beta-granted viewer can ask to contribute; the backend
+  // re-checks ownership/collaborator status and rejects self-requests.
+  const canContribute = !!viewer && viewer.permission_state === 'granted'
   return (
     <>
       {segments.map((seg, i) => {
@@ -31,6 +50,40 @@ export default function LinkedText({ segments, text }) {
             </a>
           )
         }
+        if (seg.type === 'rfc-pending') {
+          const who = seg.owner || 'Someone'
+          return (
+            <span key={i} className="rfc-pending">
+              {seg.label}
+              {canContribute && (
+                <Link
+                  className="rfc-offer rfc-offer-contribute"
+                  to={`?contribute=${encodeURIComponent(seg.slug)}&term=${encodeURIComponent(seg.label)}`}
+                  title={`${who} is working on an RFC for '${seg.label}' — ask to contribute`}
+                >
+                  ask to contribute
+                </Link>
+              )}
+            </span>
+          )
+        }
+        if (seg.type === 'rfc-candidate') {
+          const term = seg.term || seg.label
+          return (
+            <span key={i} className="rfc-candidate">
+              {seg.label}
+              {canCreate && (
+                <Link
+                  className="rfc-offer rfc-offer-create"
+                  to={`?propose=${encodeURIComponent(term)}`}
+                  title={`Create RFC for '${term}'`}
+                >
+                  + create RFC
+                </Link>
+              )}
+            </span>
+          )
+        }
         return <span key={i}>{seg.text}</span>
       })}
     </>

frontend/src/components/PRView.jsx

@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ export default function PRView({ viewer }) {
               <h1 className="pr-title">{pr.title}</h1>
               {pr.description && (
                 <p className="pr-description">
-                  <LinkedText segments={pr.description_segments} text={pr.description} />
+                  <LinkedText segments={pr.description_segments} text={pr.description} viewer={viewer} canCreate={viewer?.permission_state === 'granted'} />
                 </p>
               )}
               {/* #26: the optional ground-truth use case for this change,
@@ -444,7 +444,7 @@ function PRConversation({ threads, messagesByThread, threadsByKind, seenMsgId })
               </div>
               {m.quote && <pre className="chat-msg-quote">{m.quote}</pre>}
               <div className="chat-msg-body">
-                <LinkedText segments={m.text_segments} text={m.text} />
+                <LinkedText segments={m.text_segments} text={m.text} viewer={viewer} canCreate={viewer?.permission_state === 'granted'} />
               </div>
             </li>
           )

frontend/src/components/ProposeModal.jsx

@@ -28,8 +28,11 @@ function slugify(title) {
     .replace(/^-+|-+$/g, '')
 }
 
-export default function ProposeModal({ viewer, onClose, onSubmitted }) {
+export default function ProposeModal({ viewer, onClose, onSubmitted, initialTitle = '' }) {
-  const [title, setTitle] = useState('')
+  // #28 Part 2: a "create RFC for '<term>'" affordance pre-fills the title
+  // (App passes the `?propose=<term>` value here); the slug derives from it
+  // via the same effect that drives manual typing.
+  const [title, setTitle] = useState(initialTitle)
   const [slug, setSlug] = useState('')
   const [slugEdited, setSlugEdited] = useState(false)
   const [pitch, setPitch] = useState('')

frontend/src/components/RFCDiscussionPanel.jsx

@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ export default function RFCDiscussionPanel({ slug, viewer }) {
           </div>
         )}
         {activeMessages.map(msg => (
-          <DiscussionMessage key={msg.id} message={msg} />
+          <DiscussionMessage key={msg.id} message={msg} viewer={viewer} />
         ))}
         <div ref={bottomRef} />
       </div>
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ export default function RFCDiscussionPanel({ slug, viewer }) {
   )
 }
 
-function DiscussionMessage({ message }) {
+function DiscussionMessage({ message, viewer }) {
   const isSystem = message.role === 'system'
   if (isSystem) {
     return (
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ function DiscussionMessage({ message }) {
         <div className="discussion-message-quote">"{message.quote}"</div>
       )}
       <div className="discussion-message-body">
-        <LinkedText segments={message.text_segments} text={message.text} />
+        <LinkedText segments={message.text_segments} text={message.text} viewer={viewer} canCreate={viewer?.permission_state === 'granted'} />
       </div>
     </div>
   )