The backlog is bounded by a declared bound that every session reads at start, and the bound reports rather than refuses

197. The backlog is bounded by a declared bound that every session reads at start, and the bound reports rather than refuses

Context

Pull requests outran integration repeatedly (52 open on 2026-10-10, 82 on 2026-10-11, 79 on 2026-10-18 by the audits' readings). Proposals of 2026-10-10 and 2026-10-11 asked for admission control that refuses new independent work past a WIP bound. Rule project.accumulation-is-measured asks for a threshold that makes growth loud; rule project.blocking-checks-cheap says work in progress is reported, never blocked. The owner's Operation Convergence (2026-10-17) stopped new scope by decision, not by a gate.

Decision

The landable backlog and the starving age are declared once in .ai/repo/policy.yaml. The session brief and backlog-check read them, and a session that starts past the bound is told so with the backlog's state. The bound does not refuse a session or a task; whether it ever should is the owner's decision, recorded separately if taken.

Alternatives rejected

• Refusing new tasks past the bound by default (conflicts with rule project.blocking-checks-cheap; emergency work would need an exemption mechanism)
• A bound per script in environment defaults (today's state)
• No bound, relying on the owner's orders

Consequences

I3204 moves the bound into policy and the brief; I3212 names duplicate candidates; a later refusal would amend rule project.blocking-checks-cheap explicitly.

Sources

Promoted on 2026-10-18 from the owner's ChatGPT project (workspace chatgpt-majordomus, issue I3100). The owner has not accepted it; it is proposed for the owner's decision.

• chatgpt-majordomus:c207#6
• chatgpt-majordomus:c209#3
• chatgpt-majordomus:c227#2