notarius/docs/releases/v0.6.0.md

Notarius v0.6.0

This release improves the reliability and ergonomics of unattended, subprocess-driven D&D extraction pipelines.

Summary

Notarius now gives models more precise, semantically useful correction guidance when deterministic or model-backed validation rejects an otherwise structured candidate. Semantic reconciliation retries identify candidates with compact, request-local numbers, preserve valid candidates when a proposal cannot be repaired, and report bounded process warnings when reconciliation is incomplete. D&D extraction also canonicalizes safely resolvable reversed source ranges and applies more consistent schema, prompt, and validator constraints, improving successful operation with smaller models without weakening evidence validation.

An optional LLM-backed combat-semantics validator can review whether scene descriptions correctly consolidate combat and apply the combat kind. For subprocess callers, command-line references now follow the pipeline-scoped configuration model: a shared reference can be supplied once and automatically reach every compatible selected target, while lane- and binding-specific forms remain available for exceptions.

Compatibility

• The meaning of an unqualified --reference slot=path or --without-reference slot selector has changed. It now applies to every selected pipeline target that declares the slot instead of requiring exactly one matching target. Review callers that relied on ambiguity rejection or a unique implicit target; the current selector contract is documented in the CLI reference.
• The stage-wide merge.slot CLI reference shorthand has been removed. Use lane.merge.slot for an exact merge binding, lane.slot for all compatible bindings in one lane, or an unqualified slot for pipeline scope.
• Command-line file references cannot replace, remove, or coexist with a generated artifact handoff for the same concrete target and slot. Resolution reports the conflict so the caller can narrow or remove the selector.
• The private LLM-facing semantic-reconciliation contract now uses contiguous candidate_number values rather than application identities. This is not a durable or operator-configurable contract and requires no operator action.
• Durable D&D artifact schemas, the notarius.run-result.v2 receipt, notarius.warnings.v2, and notarius.diagnostics.v1 are unchanged from v0.5.0.

Upgrade

1. Update subprocess commands to provide shared inputs once with --reference slot=path, and convert any stage-wide merge.slot selector to an explicit supported scope. The subprocess consumer guide and complete D&D consumer guide show the current invocation pattern.
2. Review CLI reference overrides that overlap generated same-run references; narrow or remove an external selector rather than attempting to replace the generated handoff.
3. Run notarius config validate --config <path> --pipeline <id> for every deployed pipeline configuration.
4. Optionally add extract/dnd/scene-descriptions/combat_semantics to the scene-description validator chain where the deployment wants LLM-backed combat-scene review; see the configuration reference.
5. Perform a representative run with the deployed model profile and inspect the machine-readable receipt, warnings, and diagnostics before promotion.

Changes

• Added feedback-aware, module-requested retry support for normalizers while keeping retry budgets bounded and preserving attempt diagnostics.
• Reworked semantic reconciliation around compact, contiguous candidate numbers, explicit namespace guidance, complete proposal validation, and model-facing retry feedback that omits opaque internal identities.
• Preserved candidates separately when an exhausted semantic proposal cannot be safely applied, with a bounded process warning describing the fallback.
• Canonicalized safely resolvable reversed D&D source-reference endpoints before deterministic coverage validation and clarified the shared evidence prompt.
• Improved D&D schemas, prompts, and validators with closed-value constraints, contextual correction guidance, shared source-range coverage logic, and clearer item-holder transition rules.
• Added the optional D&D scene-description combat-semantics validator, shared combat policy assets, evaluation fixtures, and retry-path coverage.
• Made unqualified CLI references pipeline-scoped, added hierarchical lane and exact-binding selectors, defined deterministic override precedence, and documented first-class subprocess use.