cto/.sot/03-PROTOCOLS/CTO-CASE-SPARK-ENDPOINT-CONFIG-PRD.md

title	status	lifecycle_classification	owner	created	last_reviewed	core_promotion_status	route
CTO Case Spark Endpoint Config PRD	draft	sot	jp	2026-06-01	2026-06-01	not-promoted	cto

CTO Case Spark Endpoint Config PRD

Local planning SOT only. Not a Core Protocol. Not active Core authority.

Problem Statement

qwen-local / qwen3.6-35b-a3b is now the selected primary Case provider policy, but real Case Stage 2 cannot start until the Hermes CTO harness receives explicit Spark OpenAI-compatible endpoint config.

Current non-secret readiness check showed CTO_HARNESS_CASE_LOCAL_BASE_URL is missing. The harness correctly blocks before case_process_started instead of falling back to ambient Pi config or an external model.

Solution

Create a narrow child-local endpoint config route for Spark local provider readiness. The route records exactly what must be supplied and proven before a real Qwen Case Stage 2 retry can count.

Scope

• Require explicit CTO_HARNESS_CASE_LOCAL_BASE_URL for qwen-local.
• Treat the endpoint value as runtime config, not SOT content.
• Do not store endpoint secrets or credential values in SOT, argv, task file, backend logs, report, trace, generated config, or commit.
• Require the Hermes CTO harness to keep blocking before case_process_started when the local endpoint config is missing.
• Require missing endpoint config to write backend/provider-local-config-unavailable.txt.
• Require future proof through the Harness Evidence Interface.
• Keep copied artificial fixture scope only.
• Require no Target Repository path to be inspected or copied.
• Keep same-run fake baseline comparison required.
• Keep CTO-WORK-020, CTO-WORK-016, CTO-WORK-022, and Stage 2 blocked until real pass evidence exists.

Non-Goals

• Do not discover or print credentials.
• Do not read secret-bearing Hermes config.
• Do not mutate Case source, Cortex Core, vendor source, external developer repositories, or Target Repositories.
• Do not approve a new provider/model.
• Do not treat endpoint presence as Stage 2 pass evidence.
• Do not promote Case to copied repo, sandbox repo, owned repo, or default candidate.

Acceptance Criteria

• The route names CTO_HARNESS_CASE_LOCAL_BASE_URL as the required local endpoint config.
• The route states missing endpoint config blocks before case_process_started.
• The route states missing endpoint config writes backend/provider-local-config-unavailable.txt.
• The route states endpoint values must not be written to SOT or commits.
• The route states endpoint presence is not Stage 2 pass evidence.
• The route states a configured endpoint alone does not validate CTO-WORK-016, CTO-WORK-020, CTO-WORK-022, or CTO-WORK-028.
• The route states no Target Repository path may be inspected or copied.
• The route requires real Case Stage 2 proof through the Harness Evidence Interface before unblocking CTO-WORK-016.
• The route keeps CTO-WORK-022 blocked until explicit endpoint config and real Stage 2 pass evidence exist.
• The route keeps fake as the default validation lane.

Validation

• python3 tools/validate_cto_child.py validates this child-local route.
• Future Hermes focused validation remains python3 harness/runner/validate-case-provider-adapter.py --harness-root harness --json.
• Future real Qwen validation must run copied artificial fixture Stage 2 with CTO_HARNESS_CASE_LOCAL_BASE_URL present and no endpoint value written to SOT.

Risks And Dependencies

• Spark may be unavailable or not serving an OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
• The endpoint may require credentials or network state outside this workspace.
• Local model quality may still fail the AGENT_RESULT protocol or code-change task after endpoint config is supplied.
• A supplied endpoint does not remove the need for admitted provider/model proof.

Success Definition

The Spark endpoint requirement is explicit, secret-safe, and governed. A future operator can supply CTO_HARNESS_CASE_LOCAL_BASE_URL and run one real Case Stage 2 proof without guessing which config is missing or allowing fallback behavior.