Delivery Output Contract

Goal

This document defines a first future-facing contract for what a generated Alpha 7 delivery output should contain once a bootstrap generator has already made its choices.

In simple terms:

if a future Alpha 7 generator emits a package, this document defines what that emitted package should make visible before a team adopts it.

Current status

This is a doc-level output contract, not an active implementation schema.

Its role today is to make Alpha 7 bounded enough for 1.0 by clarifying what a healthy emitted package would need to reveal.

Why this matters

The bootstrap generator contract explains what a future generator may receive and emit.

The next question is narrower:

what must the emitted output itself reveal so it stays inspectable, traceable, and reviewable?

Without an output contract, a generator may technically follow the right inputs while still producing bundles that are too opaque to trust.

Core idea

A delivery output should be understood as:

a reviewable package whose contents, origin, and authority boundaries remain explicit

That means an emitted output should always make clear:

what was generated
which choices shaped it
which docs remain canonical
what is framework-derived versus project-local
whether the output is ready for adoption or still needs review

Minimum output sections

A healthy Alpha 7 delivery output should be able to communicate at least these sections or their equivalents.

1. Output identity

The output should identify itself.

Examples:

package name
output purpose
delivery surface

2. Source choices

The output should expose the choices that shaped it.

At minimum:

selected preset
selected adoption mode
selected delivery surface

3. Canonical references

The output should point back to the authoritative docs that still define meaning.

Examples:

roadmap or distribution docs
starter-pack guides
handoff or inference docs when relevant

4. Generated contents

The output should list what it actually contains.

Examples:

emitted files
starter-pack subset
example bundle
review notes

5. Boundary notes

The output should state what it does not redefine.

Examples:

does not replace canonical docs
does not infer project-local policy
does not silently enable future layers

6. Review posture

The output should state whether review is still expected before operational adoption.

Minimum contract fields

A future delivery output contract should be able to express at least:

output_name
output_purpose
delivery_surface
preset
adoption_mode
canonical_refs
generated_contents
boundary_notes
review_status
review_notes

This is still a doc-level contract. It is not yet a schema.

Authority rule

A generated output must not become the new source of truth by accident.

That means every healthy output should make explicit:

what remains authoritative in the repo
what is only a packaged derivative
what still needs human interpretation or local choice

If the output hides those distinctions, it is no longer a safe delivery artifact.

Locality rule

A healthy output should preserve the distinction between:

framework-derived content
project-local selections
future-facing optional layers

That means the output should not silently install local rules, future packs, or stronger automation assumptions without explicit visibility.

Review rule

A healthy delivery output should carry a visible review posture such as:

review required before adoption
review complete, ready for local adaptation
illustrative only, not for direct operational use

This keeps adoption explicit instead of implied.

See:

examples/delivery/reviewable-generated-bundle.md

What this contract should not include yet

This first output contract should not yet define:

a file format standard
a manifest schema
environment-specific output syntax
automatic validation semantics
delivery-side policy enforcement

Those belong later, if they become necessary.

Relationship to other Alpha 7 artifacts

This document sits after:

docs/bootstrap-principles.md
docs/delivery-tooling-boundaries.md
docs/bootstrap-output-examples.md
docs/bootstrap-generator-contract.md

In simple terms:

principles define posture
boundaries define stop lines
output examples define healthy shapes
generator contract defines future generator IO
this delivery output contract defines what the emitted package itself must reveal

Good signs

A first Alpha 7 delivery output contract is healthy when:

outputs remain smaller than their ambition
outputs are clearly tied to preset, mode, and surface
authority boundaries remain visible
review posture is explicit
the contract still makes sense without any implementation yet
the docs no longer imply that a real output generator must exist before 1.0